This sounds like hyperbole, but given his bloodline and backstory, it’s definitely not. When Arch Manning begins his college football career in 2023, he will be the most hyped up freshman in college sports history.
Yes, when you play the most high profile position in sports, and you’re descended from the royal family of men that played the position, it’s a natural consequence. First off, let’s clear up the confusion, Arch Manning is not Archie Manning, and he is in fact the latter’s grandson.
Arch Manning is a freshman at Isidore Newman high school in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Archie Manning started the family legacy at Ole Miss, where his prolific college career saw his getting drafted #2 overall by the New Orleans Saints in 1971. He would go on to make two Pro Bowl appearances and enter the Saints Hall of Fame.
Arch Manning is said to be further along at this point in his development than either Peyton or Eli, and he’s already being billed as the best Manning ever.
So hey, no pressure or anything! So that’s the two Mannings at the ends of the family tree, and we’ll focus on Arch the most, but first let’s go back to the Mannings in the middle between Archie and Arch.
Peyton was won two Super Bowls, five MVPs and made 14 Pro Bowls. He’s rewritten the NFL passing record book, and he’s quite simply a Mt. Rushmore quarterback. You can make the argument that he’s the G.O.A.T. among signal callers, to everyone except to Tom Brady fan boys.
Peyton was the first overall pick out of Tennessee in 1998 while his younger brother Eli was the #1 overall pick out of Ole Miss in 2004. Eli would go on to win two Super Bowls and make four Pro Bowls. The New York Giants have retired his jersey number 10 and he’s a first ballot Hall of Pretty Good.
Next we get to Cooper Manning, who currently works for an investment firm and as a comedian/talk show host.
Oldest of the three Manning boys, Peyton regarded him to be the best athlete of the triad. He was a blue chip prospect at one point, a QB turned wide receiver, who caught passes from Peyton in high school.
He was all set to follow his father’s footsteps and become a star at Ole Miss, until serious injury struck. Diagnosed with spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the spine and pinching of the nerves, his playing career was immediately over. He said he would live out his football dreams through his brother.
And now it appears his son as well. All three Manning boys attended the Newman school, but Arch is the only one who started his freshman year. Right now, he’s not just ahead of where Peyton and Eli were at this time, he’s substantially ahead.
He won the MaxPreps freshman of the year award, and he’s got the height needed the be a blue chip QB recruit already. In time, he’ll get the size no doubt.
Lousiana State University coach Ed Orgeron has already paid him a visit; as has Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin. You have to think Mississippi has in the inside track, given the connections to his father, grandfather and uncle.
However, LSU are coming off a rare trifecta- national title and a QB that won the Heisman trophy and became the first overall NFL Draft pick. Not to mention that Arch Manning has attended a camp at LSU.
So it’s really going to be interesting to see those two schools and two coaches do battle for him.
Could Tennessee jump in the mix yet? We’ll see, but here is more on Arch Manning via his profile on Rivals and on 24/7 Sports.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly contributes to WGN TV, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Now and SB Nation.
You can follow Banks, a former writer for Chicago Tribune.com, on Twitter and his cat on Instagram.