I've stayed away from making any recruiting predictions for 2023 5-star quarterback Arch Manning.

The No. 1 ranked quarterback in the country has kept his plans close to the vest, which is typical of the Manning family.

Arch, who is the nephew of Tennessee Vols legend Peyton Manning and former Ole Miss quarterback Eli Manning, is reportedly considering Alabama, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, and Texas.

Clemson was in the mix, but Manning eliminated the Tigers in January.

Manning, a New Orleans native, still has anywhere from four to eight months before he's going to commit. But that's really not a long time. This recruiting battle is essentially entering its final stages.

As we approach Manning's decision, I think we're starting to get enough information to piece together an early prediction.

Let's start with the programs I think we can quickly rule out. I don't think Manning is landing at Florida or LSU. I think Manning is simply doing his due diligence with Florida (maybe the hiring of Billy Napier, who spent four years as the head coach at Louisiana, had an impact on Arch).

As for LSU, the only reason they've been in the mix is because of proximity. I think there might have been some legitimate interest from Arch when Joe Brady was running the offense for the Tigers in 2019 (when Joe Burrow was in town). But the LSU program has gone through a complete overhaul and I don't think the Manning family sees new head coach Brian Kelly as a good fit.

That leaves Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss, and Texas.

One rule of recruiting is to follow the visits. Manning has made plenty of visits, but his most recent visit was to Georgia (his first college visit since last fall). And it was a visit that reportedly went very well.

“Obviously they love Athens," said Manning's high school coach Nelson Stewart to 247Sports this week. "[They] love the facilities and I think they came away reaffirmed with things they thought. Just incredibly well organized, energetic and I’m glad he’s able to go into meetings and go into practice and see how things are really run."

"That’s the neat thing about Arch, his family, this recruitment. It’s not about the bells and whistles, it’s about getting in the weeds and seeing how things work and forming those relationships and I think both came back really excited about everything he saw.”

Stewart also added that Arch and his family loved Georgia head coach Kirby Smart's energy.

Arch's next planned visit is to Texas this weekend. After that visit, he hopes to visit Alabama, LSU, and Ole Miss (he's visited all of those programs before). But those plans aren't finalized.

That leads me to believe this is shaping up to be a Georgia vs Texas battle. We've heard from the start that Arch has an incredible relationship with Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian (there are also reports that former Vols offensive coordinator and Ole Miss head coach David Cutcliffe, who is close with the Mannings, could be an off-field assistant at Texas in 2022).

I think Arch's interest in Texas is very real. And I think if that program was on a better trajectory (Sarkisian went 5-7 in his first season) then the Longhorns would be the pick.

But my gut is telling me that Arch is going to end up committing to Georgia. It just feels like all the signs are pointing toward Athens. I think the family really likes Kirby Smart. He played against Peyton in college and comes from that era. Plus he just led the Bulldogs to a national championship with a former walk-on quarterback in Stetson Bennett IV. I'm sure the selling point from the Bulldogs is "imagine what Georgia could do with the No. 1 quarterback in the country and this defense".

I've always believed that Arch would do his own thing. I think Ole Miss is still lingering in the background, but I'm not sure Arch would actually commit to Lane Kiffin. And while Alabama will always be a factor, it just feels like Arch's path leads to Georgia.

Featured image via SCOTT CLAUSE/USA TODAY Network / USA TODAY NETWORK