"His game is not like Peyton or Eli": CFB analysts weigh in on Arch Manning's skills heading into the 2025 CFB season

Arch Manning has been one of the most talked-about players ahead of the 2025 college football season. Despite only having two starts, the Texas Longhorns QB1 is already in the conversation to take home the 2025 Heisman Trophy.

Manning's journey has been different from what fans are used to seeing in the current state of college football. Despite being a five-star recruit, he patiently waited two years on the bench for his turn to take the spotlight as a starter.

While many analysts and fans advised Manning to enter the transfer portal and secure a starting job elsewhere, he decided to stick to the process with the Longhorns and continue developing.

On Wednesday's episode of "The Old Fashioned Sports Show," college football analyst Andy Staples shared his expectations for Manning while discussing how he differs from his famous uncles.

"I expect him to be very productive, and him to lead them into the college football playoff and deep into the college football playoff," Staples said (12:30). "Now, it's interesting, though, because you see the last name, and obviously Texas fans know this, because they've seen him play quite a bit already, but I don't know that the wider country understands that his game is not like Peyton or Eli's, like Cooper Manning, his dad was a wide receiver, and he would have been a good wide receiver at Ole Miss, but he hurt his neck.

"So he was he was the most athletic of the three Manning brothers, and so Arch is more of a dual threat guy, as evidenced by them using him in a running package last year, when Quinn Ewers' ankle was danged up, I'm excited to see what they build around him. Like, what kind of because he's really fast, except he's also prototypical NFL size and arm strength."

CFB analyst discusses Arch Manning's preparedness for the 2026 NFL draft

Arch Manning has been with Texas for two years and is ready to take the reins as the team's starter in his third season.

Many fans and analysts wonder if he'll leave college football after next season and declare for the NFL draft, or come back and play another year.

Discussing the hype around Manning and his preparedness to declare for the 2026 draft, SI's Albert Breer shared that there is not enough evidence to support the narrative that the Longhorns QB will be a top five or fifth-round pick.