Eli and Peyton Manning take a backseat as Kirk Herbstreit reveals Manning QB closest to Arch
College football analyst Kirk Herbstreit believes Arch Manning's quarterback ability is more comparable to that of his grandfather Archie Manning than Eli or Peyton Manning's. Arch, the Texas Longhorns freshman, is having a solid season as the backup quarterback. He has completed 61 passes for 939 yards and nine touchdowns.
On Wednesday, Herbstreit appeared on Barstool's "Pardon My Take" to praise the freshman's performance this year.
"I know everyone wants to compare him to his uncles, but he's probably more like his grandfather than he is his uncles as far as and he's much bigger and stronger," Herbstreit said.
The college football analyst discussed how the Texas rookie looks different in person than on TV. He also believes the freshman's strength and athleticism make him more unique than his grandfather or uncles.
"You talk about an excitement of where you want to see Texas next year with Arch having an entire offseason to build his game, but he's nothing like Peyton. He's nothing like Eli. He's really nothing like his grandfather, who was really an athletic guy," Herbstreit said.
"He's his own guy, and he's got the size that they all have, but his strength and athletic ability, who knows what Sark (Texas coach Steve Sarkisian) will do in the offseason to build the offense around him," Herbstreit added.
"I hope we see more of him": Kirk Herbstreit wants to see Arch Manning have more playing time in the Texas-Clemson clash
On Saturday, Texas (11-2, 7-1 Southeastern Conference) will take on the No. 12 Clemson Tigers (10-3, 7-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) in the first round of the College Football Playoff. Quinn Ewers is expected to be the starting quarterback for Texas.
However, Herbstreit hopes the backup quarterback will get an opportunity to play over Ewers in Saturday's matchup and potentially the rest of the playoffs.
"Who knows if Arch will get an opportunity here to play in these next potential four games that Texas might be playing. I hope we see more of him. He's fun," Herbstreit said.
The Longhorns coach has preferred Ewers to start over his freshman quarterback. Arch has also shown support for his teammate as the team leader.
Ewers has completed 233 passes for 2,665 yards and 25 touchdowns for the season. He'll try to regroup after his last performance in Texas's 19-22 overtime loss to the No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs (11-2, 6-2 SEC) in the SEC Championship game on Dec. 7. The 2025 NFL draft prospect ended the game with 27 of 46 completed passes for 358 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions.
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian remains committed to Ewers but may have the Longhorns rookie replace him if he underperforms during Saturday's playoff game.