"I don't remember many of my spring games": Eli Manning defends nephew Arch Manning from ongoing criticism

The offseason narrative at Texas is that Arch Manning will give the incumbent quarterback Quinn Ewers a run for his money. But things on the ground during the April 16 spring game that pitted White vs. Orange painted a different story. Most critics saw the highly-hyped Manning's unofficial college football debut as a flop.

The five-star New Orleans native and nephew of Hall of Famer Peyton Manning failed to impress as Maalik Murphy’s backup for the Orange team. He struggled to hit his stride, completing only five of his 13 passing attempts for 30 yards and no score.

Eli Manning: Don’t read too much into Arch’s spring and postseason performance

Arch's other uncle, two-time Super Bowl champion Eli Manning, has pushed back against criticism leveled at the star after the spring game. The former New York Giants QB knows all too well that these setbacks are part of the journey.

“For me, I don’t remember many of my spring games,” the two-time Super Bowl MVP said while speaking to Sports Illustrated at the Manning Passing Academy at Nicholls State in Thibodaux, Louisiana. “I don’t remember many of my preseason games. Spring games, you can’t look too much into it."

He also argued that Arch was still technically a high school senior when he played in the Longhorns’ spring game.

“I know, for him, it’s about getting in there, getting into practices, getting in the weight room (and) learning the playbook,” the 42-year-old NFL legend said.

Arch enrolled a semester early at Texas after getting lots of traction during the recruiting rounds. He was a five-star recruit, ranking as such by all big four recruiting media companies: ESPN, Rivals, 247Sports and On3.

The hotly sought-after quarterback picked the Longhorns over a handful of other top-tier programs, including the Crimson Tide, Clemson Tigers, Georgia Bulldogs and LSU Tigers.

Despite the slight backlash, Eli believes that Arch’s early enrollment at Texas will pay off in the long haul.

The 6-foot-4 quarterback completed his senior year at Isadore Newman with 2,407 yards and 34 touchdowns, placing him at the top of the 2023 recruiting class. That’s why expectations among analysts and Texas fans are sky-high from the get-go.

On this part, Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian has said that he won't rush Manning along. He plans to have him play second fiddle to the incumbent QB come the start of the season as Texas battles for a spot in the Big 12 championship game.