Arch Manning would be biggest quarterback landing at Texas since Vince Young | Opinion
Arch Manning is in play.
Dare you dream, Longhorn Nation?
Does Peyton Manning do commercials? Of course you dream. Arch Manning could be the savior that turns this whole thing around.
The progeny of the first family of NFL quarterbacks is coming back to Austin, Texas to visit the Longhorns campus for the second time since last season. On Saturday, 247Sports reported that Peyton and Eli’s nephew is making official visits to Georgia and Alabama in the first couple of weeks of June and will come to Austin June 18.
It goes without saying that the five-star recruit from Isidore Newman (New Orleans) would be welcome on any college campus in the country, but the fact that he is visiting the Longhorns early in the process should have folks in Austin excited. If anything, Texas is on the radar.
MORE: Texas laser-focused on Arch Manning, showing just how ‘delicate’ QB recruiting can be
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The Mannings are an SEC family. Pop-Pop Archie, dad Cooper and uncle Eli all played at Ole Miss while Peyton played at Tennessee. He has been spotted in the stands at Georgia games with his dad sporting Bulldogs gear and is obviously familiar with old family haunts in Oxford and down the street in Baton Rouge. Either way, to have him visiting a Big 12 school means he must either be really serious about the Longhorns or he loves hanging out on 6th.
Giving the Horns a look could come down to several factors. Texas could be playing in the SEC as early as 2023, which would mean Arch would play at least half of his conference games in familiar settings.
He told on3.com that it’s important for him to have maintained relationships with Texas coach Steve Sarkisian and assistant coach A.J. Milwee during the recruiting process. Arch famously took a FaceTime call from Sarkisian at a local arcade last July while babysitting two kids. He wasn’t even playing video games. He was on the clock that day but still picked up when Sark called.
He also likened the ATX to his hometown.
"Austin is a big city compared to (Athens and Tuscaloosa)," he said. "So it reminds me a little bit of New Orleans. It’s a little weird, and they’ve got good coaches there.”
Manning said he would like to make his decision before his senior season starts, which has become the norm with the early national signing day in December taking on added importance over the last few years.
To get him to Texas would be the biggest quarterback landing since Mack Brown brought in Vince Young in 2001.
About that weird thing … hey Arch, if you head this way in 2023, you will have no problems finding weird in our city.
Just call us the Little Easy.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Arch Manning to visit Texas; would be biggest QB get since Vince Young
