Arch Manning, Texas’ top recruiting catch, unfazed by family legacy, sky-high expectations

biggins · Sep 15, 2022

The blue-chip quarterback, and nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning, blazes his own path in choosing the Longhorns.

Quarterback Arch Manning chats with teammate and best friend Will Randle (87) after a touchdown pass at Newman High School's recent homecoming game. Both Manning and Randle have committed to play football at the University of Texas.(Ted Jackson / Special Contributor)

NEW ORLEANS — Homecoming win secured in dominant fashion on a humid Friday night, Arch Manning joined the postgame handshake line but didn’t exactly blend in, towering above at 6-foot-4.

Despite his unpretentious manner, he also loomed metaphorically — as the nation’s No. 1-ranked high school recruit and third-generation prodigy of football’s preeminent quarterback family.

He is the grandson of Archie and nephew of Peyton and Eli. He plays for Isidore Newman School, where Peyton and Eli starred, as did Arch’s father Cooper before spinal stenosis ended his athletic career.
All eyes on this night at Michael Lupin Field in the Manning Family Athletic Complex were on Arch. He didn’t disappoint, slinging four touchdown passes and running for another.
State-ranked Riverside Academy mostly was defenseless, although the last player in the handshake line muttered a parting shot at Arch.

“Eli’s better.”

Arch seems unfazed by it all, whether it be familial comparisons, the weight of expectation or his next challenge, the biggest of his 18-year life.

It’s been nearly three months since on June 23 he sent The Tweet that reverberated through college football: “Committed to the University of Texas. #HookEm”

Inundated with media requests, Newman officials and the Manning family have declined most interviews, wanting Arch’s senior season to have at least a semblance of normalcy.
But after the Greenies’ homecoming win, and with a reporter visiting from Dallas, Arch courteously pondered his burnt orange future. He smiled as he spoke about how connected he feels to Longhorn coaches and players. And how Austin’s vibe feels a lot like his native New Orleans.

He especially was enthusiastic when asked about the slew of oral Longhorn commitments that immediately followed his — although his best friend and Newman teammate, tight end Will Randle, teases that it was his June 19 commitment to Texas that started the program’s roll to its top-five recruiting class.
“The goal right after I committed was to get good players,” Arch said. “It’s been fun just getting on the phone with guys. Hopefully we can keep building this class.”

He is a five-star prospect, the bluest hue a chip can get, but the value his commitment is bringing to the Texas program and second-year coach Steve Sarkisian is immeasurable.
While primarily focused on leading Newman to its first state football title — something not even Peyton or Eli were able to do — highly organized Arch is multi-tasking and planning ahead.
He has the option to enroll at Texas as soon as next spring, but he already intimately understands Texas’ offense, having kept meticulous notes and engrossed himself in deep strategic conversations with Sarkisian and Longhorns quarterbacks coach A.J. Milwee.
In short, he’s a Manning.

Athletically he appears to be a composite of his grandfather, uncles and father. Cooper was a standout on Newman’s 1991 state championship basketball team, as was Arch on the Greenies’ title team last spring.

And Arch’s mother, Ellen, was MVP of New Orleans Sacred Heart’s 1986 state volleyball championship match.

Which Manning does Arch emulate? That’s easy, he says: It’s his grandfather, though not the characteristics most fans probably imagine.

“I kind of model my game after his,” Arch said. “And more than that, just his personality. He’s nice to everyone. Keeps in touch with everyone. He’s just a great guy, a great role model for me.”

Manning legacy

Long before he became patriarch of the Manning quarterback dynasty, Archie grew his legend at the University of Mississippi, then the New Orleans Saints, with uncanny elusiveness and improvisation.

At Ole Miss his magical feats made him a national sensation and a Heisman finalist in 1969 and 1970. For the woebegone Saints, he mostly ran for his life.