Arch Manning’s grandad once revealed special advantage of young QB compared to uncles Eli & Peyton: “Football’s changed a lot”
The Texas Longhorns have risen to No. 1 in the AP Top 25 college football rankings after their impressive 56-7 victory over the UTSA Roadrunners in Week 3. While the entire team performed well, backup quarterback Arch Manning stole the spotlight with a remarkable five-touchdown performance.
A new Manning era is beginning in football, and Arch's recent showing takes us to a throwback interview from three years ago, where his grandfather, Archie Manning, said Arch had an edge over his NFL legend uncles, Eli and Peyton Manning.
In the 2020 interview on the "Keyshawn, JWill and Zubin" show, Archie said:
"Football has changed a lot over the years. People are throwing it more. Now Peyton and Eli, they threw a decent amount compared to the other schools. But now everyone's in the spread offense, everyone's in the shotgun and they're throwing the ball more. So, that's one advantage Arch has over Peyton and Eli. Their offense is a little more pass-oriented."
Archie pointed out that Arch grew up in an era where teams throw the ball more frequently, often using spread offenses and shotgun formations. Moreover, Arch gained valuable experience as he started playing quarterback as a freshman in high school, thus having more passing opportunities than his uncles had at the same age.
During his time playing at Isidore Newman School in New Orleans, Arch Manning became the school’s all-time leader in both passing yards and touchdowns, surpassing Eli's record of 7,389 passing yards and Peyton's record of 93 career touchdowns.
Over four seasons, he threw for 8,539 yards, completing 642 of 996 passes and 115 touchdowns with 19 interceptions. Additionally, he rushed for 748 yards and reached the end zone 19 times.
Arch Manning's remarkable five-touchdown performance against UTSA
Arch Manning entered his second game of the 2024 season on Saturday after Longhorns QB1 Quinn Ewers exited early in the second quarter with a reported strained abdomen and did not return. Manning picked up where Ewers left off, scoring the third touchdown of the game on his first play and running 67 yards at 20.7 miles per hour for another touchdown.
Talking about the thought process behind his rushing touchdown, Arch Manning said in the postgame presser:
"When adrenaline kicks in, it helps you run a little bit faster. But I credit that to Torre Becton [director of Texas football performance].... he runs our tails off in the summer. So I think I've gotten a little bit faster since I've gone on campus."
Further in the game, he threw a 51-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Isaiah Bond and a 75-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Wingo, finishing the game with 223 yards, four touchdowns and one rushing touchdown.
While it is unclear when Quinn Ewers will return to the field, Texas now has another explosive quarterback to rely on. As the Longhorns prepare to face Louisiana-Monroe in Week 4, excitement is building among Texas fans, who are eager to see more of Arch Manning in action.