Marshall Manning, the son of Tennessee Vols legend Peyton Manning, is on the verge of becoming one of the most highly recruited quarterbacks in the country. And while his recruitment hasn’t officially started yet, it won’t be long before conversation around where the younger Manning could land will start picking up steam.

It’s still early, so the Vols haven’t shown serious interest yet — and we don’t know for sure if they will. But I think Tennessee would be foolish not to pursue him. He’s a talented player, and he’s the son of one of the greatest players in program history.

Of course, even if Josh Heupel and the Vols do pursue him, there’s no guarantee they’ll land him.

Peyton is the son of Ole Miss legend Archie Manning, and Archie never pressured Peyton into following in his footsteps in Oxford. Peyton made his own decision and chose Tennessee because it was where he felt the most comfortable.

Additionally, Eli Manning, Peyton’s younger brother, initially planned to go to Texas. He ended up at Ole Miss because David Cutcliffe, Tennessee’s offensive coordinator during Peyton’s time in Knoxville, left after the 1998 season to become the Ole Miss head coach. Eli had built a strong relationship with Cutcliffe through Tennessee football camps and through his brother, and that connection was ultimately a big factor in his decision to play at Ole Miss — it wasn’t just because Archie played there.

Cooper Manning, the eldest brother, handled his son Arch’s recruitment similarly (and Arch ended up at Texas). This is the (Manning) way. And the expectation is that Peyton will handle Marshall’s recruitment the same way.

The offensive system will likely be key in Marshall Manning’s recruitment

When Marshall’s recruitment kicks into high gear, his decision will probably be based mostly on his relationship with the coaching staff and the offensive system.

I’d expect Marshall to prefer a pro-style system.

College offenses in general aren’t as pro-style as they used to be because of the transfer portal. Coaching staffs have to simplify installs, and plays are getting signaled in from the sideline even by teams that don’t run super fast tempo. True pro-style systems are rare in college football these days.

If the Vols were still running their wide split half-read system from 2021 and 2022, I think the offense would be a hard sell for Marshall.

Fortunately for Vols fans, Tennessee’s offense is trending in a more pro-style direction. Joey Aguilar, Tennessee’s quarterback last season, ran the most pro-style system the Vols have had under Heupel. The fact that Tennessee is showing a willingness to evolve in a pro-style direction could be important if they pursue Marshall down the road.

That’s why Tennessee needs to make sure Marshall heard what Aguilar had to say earlier this summer about the Vols’ offensive evolution during an interview on WNML’s SportsTalk.

“Everybody has their own opinion, but if you go back and watch the tape this year, and compare it to some other teams, you’ll see the kind of plays that we run,” said Aguilar. “And it’s not all just wide splits and just go balls.

“It was a blessing for those coaches to [evolve]… If you go back and break it down and take a look at it, you’ll see the kind of offense that they ran. So [credit] to them for getting us ready for the next level.”

Former Vols wide receiver Chris Brazzell made similar comments about Tennessee’s offense earlier this spring.

“Everybody knows Tennessee as the run-n-gun,” said Brazzell. “Which, they’re right — I’m not gonna sit here and lie. So in 2024, that was a lot of run-n-gun. But this year, if you really watch my film, I’m running damn near every route in the playbook. Every route I’ve ran here, I ran at Tennessee.

“There’s not a route I’ve ran here that I have not [already] ran. So Tennessee is definitely evolving the playbook. They’re getting more pro-style. So yeah, I haven’t really ran a route here that I haven’t run at Tennessee.”

I would be shocked if Tennessee doesn’t go after Marshall Manning. I think Heupel would hear it from Vols fans if he didn’t at least make a strong push. If the Vols pursue him and give it their best shot, and he chooses to go somewhere else (even a program like Georgia), I don’t think Tennessee fans will hold it against Heupel (again, as long as Heupel makes a strong effort). They understand Peyton’s story and how he ended up at Tennessee. And if you celebrate Peyton’s story, you have to be okay with Marshall making his own choice, whatever that ends up being.

The way Tennessee’s offense is evolving only helps the Vols’ chances, and that might be the most important factor of all.