Thanks to Arch Manning, it now seems less likely that Peyton Manning’s son Marshall will play for the Tennessee Vols
Tennessee Vols legend Peyton Manning’s son Marshall is a still a couple of years away from being heavily recruited. Marshall is currently an eighth grader at The Baylor School in Chattanooga. The class of 2030 quarterback, however, will likely be one of the top recruits in the nation once he gets to the end of […]
Tennessee Vols legend Peyton Manning’s son Marshall is a still a couple of years away from being heavily recruited.
Marshall is currently an eighth grader at The Baylor School in Chattanooga.
The class of 2030 quarterback, however, will likely be one of the top recruits in the nation once he gets to the end of his high school career.
Unsurprisingly, many Vols fans are already hoping that Marshall follows in his dad’s footsteps and plays for the University of Tennessee.
I’ve already pointed out that I’m skeptical that Marshall will play for the Vols — due to several factors (such as the fact that Peyton didn’t play at the same school that his dad played at, so it shouldn’t be a foregone conclusion that Marshall will play for Tennessee).
The biggest of those factors revolves around the weight of expectations that Marshall would face at Tennessee. He would be constantly compared to Peyton. And if he doesn’t perform well early in his career, the scrutiny from the national media could get intense — much like what we’re seeing at Texas with Marshall’s cousin, Arch.
The criticism that Arch Manning is facing at Texas is a reminder of how intense things could get for Marshall Manning if he went to Tennessee and struggled early
Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning, the nephew of Peyton, has had a challenging start to his first season as the starter in Austin.
Texas is 3-2 through the first five games of the season, and Arch’s play has been inconsistent (he threw two interceptions and took six sacks in the Longhorns’ loss to the Florida Gators last weekend).
Because of Arch’s name, and because of the hype that’s surrounded him for the last several years, the national media has zeroed in on the redshirt sophomore’s struggles. Arch’s inconsistent play is one of the top stories in college football right now, even though there are numerous Power-4 quarterbacks who have played worse than him this season.
Just look at a sample of the recent headlines about Arch.
Arch has started seven games in his college career and he’s already being called a flop? That’s absolute insanity.
I have no idea how Arch’s career is going to play out — no one does. But I know he’s still in the early stages of his football journey. Every quarterback that’s ever played the game has gone through rough stretches, whether it’s at the start of their career, the prime of their career, the end of their career, whenever. It’s never perfect when it comes to sports. And every player develops on a different timeline, due to different circumstances.
Not to mention, I think part of Arch’s problem right now is that he’s trying to live up to expectations that were put on him — unfair expectations that he had no part in creating
If Marshall were to go to Tennessee and struggle in his first seven starts, the noise from the national media would be unbearable. The national media loves to hype up players who don’t ask for the hype and then tear them down when they inevitably don’t live up the hype.
Does Peyton really want to see his son go through that at Tennessee? Does Marshall want to go through that?
We probably won’t know the answer to that for a few more years, but I’ll completely understand if Marshall is steered away from Tennessee.
I think Peyton is noticing what’s happening with Arch at Texas. I think Peyton notices how much harder the pressure is to deal with for players now than it was when he was at Tennessee in the mid 1990s. It’s something that can’t be escaped in the current era of college football thanks to social media and the 24/7 news cycle.
There’s going to be pressure no matter what for Marshall because of his name. But going to Tennessee would kick that pressure up another notch. And that might be the worst thing possible for the young quarterback’s development.
Tennessee Volunteers News
Why Peyton Manning’s preseason advice to Tennessee QB Joey Aguilar could have helped Texas QB Arch Manning against Florida
Peyton Manning shared some advice before the start of the 2025 season with Tennessee Vols quarterback Joey Aguilar that he probably should’ve shared with his nephew, Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning, too. Arch had a tough game on Saturday in the Longhorns’ 29-21 loss to the Florida Gators in Gainesville. The former five-star recruit threw […]
