Arch Manning may have to carry more than the weight of his last name next season.
On Tuesday morning’s edition of ESPN’s “Get Up,” Paul Finebaum put even more lofty praise on the Texas redshirt sophomore quarterback.
When Finebaum was asked what the expectations for the Longhorns and Manning should be, he set a high bar.
“The absolute roof. I think there’s a reasonably good chance that Arch Manning will be sitting on the front row in New York at the Heisman ceremony,” Finebaum replied. “That’s assuming that his team does what it’s supposed to do and compete not only for the SEC, but for the national championship, and I really believe they will.”
Finebaum also believes that if head coach Steve Sarkisian had brought in Manning during the College Football Playoff semifinal matchup against Ohio State last season, the Longhorns would be hoisting the trophy instead of the Buckeyes.
But then Finebaum capped off his expectations by saying Manning might be the best quarterback since a certain phenom.
“I believe, also, that Arch Manning is the best college football quarterback we have seen since Tim Tebow entered the scene in 2006,” Finebaum said.
During his time in college, Tebow was unstoppable. In his four years at the collegiate level, he had 9,285 passing yards and 88 touchdowns through the air. He also helped Florida to two national championships.
Manning was good in the limited action he appeared in last season, passing for 939 yards and nine touchdowns, filling in for starter Quinn Ewers. But even with those numbers, at the moment, it seems like a far cry to expect him to match anything that Tebow did.
But no matter what happens during the season, good or bad, it is a sure thing that the media will be swarming the nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning.
Texas sits at the No. 1 spot on ESPN’s preseason power rankings. Manning and the Longhorns look to back up that ranking and make a run at the championship this season.
