Tennessee named as a potential landing spot for Arch Manning, but is that a realistic scenario?
It's that time of year when transfer rumors, some of them are wild fantasies while others are legitimate possibilities, start making their rounds in college football. Over the last several weeks, there's been some speculation that Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning, the nephew of Tennessee Vols legend Peyton Manning, could look to transfer. The speculation […]
It's that time of year when transfer rumors, some of them are wild fantasies while others are legitimate possibilities, start making their rounds in college football.
Over the last several weeks, there's been some speculation that Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning, the nephew of Tennessee Vols legend Peyton Manning, could look to transfer. The speculation stems from the rumors that starting quarterback Quinn Ewers will return to Texas in 2024.
If Ewers returns, Manning will be behind him on the depth chart. Manning could also be behind former four-star quarterback Maalik Murphy on the depth chart (Murphy saw action over Manning this season).
Manning could search for a better situation via the transfer portal if he feels like he doesn't have a legitimate chance to play in 2024.
On Thursday, MikeFarrellSports.com's Scott Salomon, a longtime college football writer/analyst Scott Salomon, who has worked in the past for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, pointed out Tennessee as a potential landing spot for Manning if he hits the portal.
From MikeFarrellSports.com: If Ewers stays at Texas, Manning will once again return to the third team, as he will also have to jump Maalik Murphy, who started against BYU and Kansas State after Ewers went down with an injury. It is because of the injury that Ewers suffered that he might want to come back and show that he is still the same first-round talent that many scouts projected before he got hurt.
Potential landing places for Manning could include Ohio State, Alabama, Ole Miss, Tennessee, or even Miami, who need a starting quarterback with Tyler Van Dyke entering the transfer portal and Emory Williams out until Spring with a compound fracture in his right arm.
Beyond the obvious connection to Tennessee via Peyton, there aren't many reasons why this would make sense.
For starters, Vols head coach Josh Heupel and his staff prioritized Nico Iamaleava over Manning during the recruiting process. Why would Tennessee pursue Manning now that it's time for Nico to take over as the program's starting quarterback in 2024?
The Vols could certainly use some competition in their quarterback room, but bringing in a former five-star recruit that has zero experience in Heupel's system would seem like a waste of NIL assets. Sure, it would be great to have two quarterbacks on the roster that were ranked at the top of their class, but only one of them can play. And it's not like Manning would be a huge threat to beat out Iamaleava, who now has a year of experience in Heupel's system under his belt (dating back to last season's Orange Bowl practices). That NIL cash would be better spent on other areas of the roster that need to be upgraded.
Similarly, why would Manning transfer to a school where he still wouldn't be at the top of the depth chart? If Manning transfers, it will be to a program that needs a starting quarterback. Not a program that already has an obvious heir to the starting job.
Ultimately, I'd be surprised if Manning leaves Texas. I think it's much more likely that he waits his turn. It's essentially "the Manning way". But you never say never in today's world of college football, so we can't completely rule out that he could hit the portal. But if he does, Tennessee would likely be at the bottom of the list of potential suitors.
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