Arch Manning’s jersey number at Texas pays homage to a former No. 1 overall draft pick, but it’s not the one fans might expect
Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning rocks an orange No. 16 jersey in Austin. 30 years ago, Arch’s uncle — Pro Football Hall of Famer Peyton Manning — wore an orange No. 16 in Knoxville while playing quarterback for the Tennessee Vols. It’s reasonable to assume that Arch wears No. 16 in honor of Peyton. But […]
Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning rocks an orange No. 16 jersey in Austin.
30 years ago, Arch’s uncle — Pro Football Hall of Famer Peyton Manning — wore an orange No. 16 in Knoxville while playing quarterback for the Tennessee Vols.
It’s reasonable to assume that Arch wears No. 16 in honor of Peyton.
But that’s not the case at all.
Arch appeared on the Texas One Fund podcast this week (along with his brother Heid, who’s hilarious) and explained why he wears the No. 16 — and it has nothing to do with Peyton. Instead, it’s because of another quarterback who was a No. 1 overall draft pick.
“You know, 18 was retired at [Isidore] Newman (Arch’s high school in New Orleans), so I didn’t want to wear 18,” said Arch. “Eli wore 10. My grandfather wore eight in the pros. So, I always liked Trevor Lawrence. He was a big high school recruit, and so in sixth grade, I wore 16 and I’ve worn it since.”
So there you have it — Arch wears an orange No. 16 jersey at Texas because of Trevor Lawrence (who wore an orange No. 16 jersey at Clemson) and not because of Peyton.
The irony here is that Lawrence wears No. 16 because he grew up idolizing Peyton.
So in a way, Peyton is responsible for Arch wearing No. 16 at Texas — just not directly.
Tennessee Volunteers News
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The Tennessee Vols nearly had their first Heisman Trophy winner in 1997, but quarterback Peyton Manning finished as the runner-up to Michigan Wolverines defensive back Charles Woodson. Manning recently commented about finishing as the runner-up to NBC Sports announcer Cris Collinsworth. The former Vol admitted that going to New York for the ceremony wasn’t the […]
