College football insider shares theory on why Arch Manning didn't transfer from Texas
Arch Manning, one of the most famous names in college football, will be a backup quarterback for the Texas Longhorns in 2024. The rising redshirt freshman would've been in line to start for Texas in 2024 had Quinn Ewers decided to declare for the NFL Draft. But Ewers elected to return, which solidified Manning's status […]
Arch Manning, one of the most famous names in college football, will be a backup quarterback for the Texas Longhorns in 2024.
The rising redshirt freshman would've been in line to start for Texas in 2024 had Quinn Ewers decided to declare for the NFL Draft. But Ewers elected to return, which solidified Manning's status as the No. 2 quarterback in Austin.
Before it even became clear that Ewers was going to return for another season, speculation had already started that Manning could choose to enter the transfer portal. The feeling was that maybe Manning wouldn't want to sit another year. It's not beyond the Mannings to use their leverage in a situation — just look at the 2004 NFL Draft and Eli Manning's refusal to sign with the San Diego Chargers.
But instead of transferring, Manning stayed put in Austin. It appears that he never came close to exploring the transfer portal.
The Athletic's Bruce Feldman has a theory on why Manning never truly considered transferring. And it's basically because there's no guarantee that Manning would've had a desirable starting option if he entered the portal.
"I think playing at the level he was playing at, it wasn't like he was playing at Mater Dei or St. John Bosco, or one of these programs that is playing incredibly high level competition every week in high school football," said Fledman. "I mean, everything I had heard is that Texas likes Arch Manning. But he had a lot of area to grow in terms of consistency, what they would see practice to practice. I think this is a really good thing for Arch Manning to sit for another year and keep developing."
"I think there's a lot of quarterbacks, when you are totally unproven in college football, what you did in high school doesn't carry that much weight no matter what your last name is," added Feldman. "I mean, Malachi Nelson was a quarterback who ESPN ranked as the top player in the last recruiting class. [He] was a five-star guy [and] went to USC. He wasn't going to have huge offers once he transferred out of USC because he didn't have anything to show for it. It wasn't like they were raving about what he did there. He's going to Boise State. The other guy who was a five-star guy, who's played more than Arch and Malachi, [is] Dante Moore. But [he] had a bunch of pick-sixes at UCLA, he's got to Oregon. But he's going there knowing he's going to be the backup. And he's going to sit there for another year and just try to learn and develop."
"So I think what's happened in the portal is, yeah it's great that you were a four or five-star guy at the high school. Or it's great that you had this big reputation. But if you don't have real college film, I think people are like 'we need to see something from you' before they're going to say 'hey, we trust you to run our program'."
Feldman isn't necessarily saying that's what kept Manning from transferring. It's really just what kept Manning from even briefly considering the transfer portal. There wasn't a better situation out there for Manning than what he's in at Texas. Everyone wants to play. But sometimes, you just have to wait your turn — famous last name or not.
It's actually refreshing that Manning didn't make a big deal about being the backup again in 2024. It wasn't that long ago that quarterbacks didn't truly expect to start until their third seasons. But those days, for the most part, appear to be long gone. Good on Manning for choosing to see it through at Texas.
Kalen DeBoer already dealing with a mini controversy as Alabama’s head football coach
Already some controversy in Tuscaloosa
