CFB insider puts Arch Manning hype to rest with blunt preseason assessment of Steve Sarkisian's QB1

The Arch Manning hype is getting out of bounds with each passing day, according to analyst Jake Crain, who calls this overwhelming reaction of fans unusual. With just two career starts at Texas, his fans have been floating theories and drawing parallels to veteran stars of the game.

The hype has been due to his legendary uncles, Peyton and Eli Manning, who happen to be the icons of the game. Similarly, his arrival in Texas and commitment to the program despite being linked to the transfer portal several times added more spice to his fandom.

While speaking to On3's J.D. PicKell, Crain urged the experts to pump the brakes and let young Manning put on his show.

“I have some controversial takes, but I think you know when you look at some of these quarterbacks, and people are putting Arch Manning at two, like ahead of guys like Garrett Nussmeier, and even ahead of guys like Marcel Reed," Crain said Monday (0:10). "I think at A&M, it blows my mind. I know why, because his last name is Manning, and none of this is Arch's fault.

“Arch just shows up to work trying to be the best version of himself. So I'm not saying this in any way reflects who Arch Manning is, but to me, you don't have enough information to be able to say that it's like we've seen the trailer for the Arch Manning movie."

"Now, the trailer has been pretty good, but I've seen pretty good trailers and the movie ended up falling flat. I've seen pretty good trailers and the movie ended up being a hit, right, grossing hundreds of millions of dollars,” he added.

Arch Manning has a major task to accomplish at Texas

Heading into the 2025 season, Manning will shoulder a lot of expectations, especially replacing Quinn Ewers as the starting quarterback for the program. The last two seasons have been quite successful for Texas as a whole. They made the playoffs but lost in the semifinals.

After arriving in the SEC, coach Steve Sarkisian has made major strides in recruiting. Now it's time for Manning to lead the program to the national championship.