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Herbstreit: Arch Manning Will Be the Top QB in His Class

by: RT Young5 hours ago

Arch Manning entered 2025 with incomprehensible levels of hype attached. A lot of folks, myself included, thought his arrival onto the scene would resemble something like a biblical reckoning. But the beginning and middle of his tenure were much more uneven, more like Genesis than the book of Revelation.

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It’s obvious Arch had uneven stretches in 2025. There were stints (against Ohio State and UTEP where he was downright bad), but like Texas fans, ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit remains confident in his long-term outlook heading into 2026. Speaking on Crain & Cone on On3, Herbstreit said he expects Manning to ultimately emerge as the top quarterback in his draft class.

“He lived it, he experienced it, he survived it,” Herbstreit said. “I’ll be shocked, when the dust settles, if he’s not the guy in the class.”

Manning finished the season completing 61.4 percent of his passes for 3,163 yards with 26 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also rushed for 399 yards and 10 touchdowns.

After stellar play down the stretch against Vanderbilt, Miss St, Arkansas and Texas A&M, he rushed for 155 yards and two touchdowns in the Citrus Bowl against Michigan. It was a performance which seemed revelatory about 2026. It’s one that will continue to draw comparisons to a different Texas quarterback’s (Vince Young) demolition of the Maize and Blue before winning the national title in the following year.

Herbstreit said the expectations surrounding Manning early in the year were unusually heavy and may have affected his early performances.

“I just think he’s been through a tough stretch, where the expectations were almost unfair,” Herbstreit said. “And a lot of it was his own doing. He felt the tension, I think it affected him. When you’re going into a season, it’s like, ‘He’s better than both of his uncles, he’s better than his grandpa,’ it’s like every throw had to be, ‘Whoa, did you see that?’”

Texas retained OT Trevor Goosby, bolstered the tackle position by adding Melvin Siani opposite and kept Ryan Wingo as a key outside weapon. The flashy additions from the transfer portal dominate the headlines though, most notably Auburn wide receiver Cam Coleman and running backs Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown. The go-for-broke approach by Steve Sarkisian and company was a sign of just how much faith they have in Manning now that he has a year as a starter behind him.

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Expectations won’t be any lower in 2026, as Texas opens the season against Texas State before hosting Ohio State in Week 2. A nine-game SEC schedule follows, including matchups with rivals and teams with Manning ties like LSU (the flagship institution of his home state), Tennessee and Ole Miss. The noise around Manning will only grow, but Herbstreit and others believe the current prince of football’s Royal Family is ready.

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