Arch Manning\u2019s slow start to the 2025 season isn\u2019t totally affecting his potential NFL prospects, but some experts are preaching patience.<\/p>\n
ESPN surveyed a group of 25 NFL scouts and executives, with just one putting the Texas signal-caller as the top quarterback in the 2026 draft class. <\/p>\n
A big reason for this is that many in the group expect Manning will delay his NFL career and focus on the 2027 draft after another college season.<\/p>\n
Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) looks to the pass the ball during the second half against the Texas El Paso Miners at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Scott Wachter-Imagn Images<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s very talented,\u201d\u00a0one scout told ESPN<\/a>. \u201cJust from top-to-bottom, arm talent. Just understanding in the pocket and seeing the field and feeling the field. You see his arm strength. He just needs to get everything under control and for the game to slow down.\u201d<\/p>\n Since this season is Manning\u2019s first as the starter for Longhorns after waiting patiently for the role behind Quinn Ewers for two years, it\u2019s not a total surprise that this is the expectation. <\/p>\n However, this was solidified further after Texas got off to a 2-1 start, with Manning putting up uneven results.<\/p>\n Across the three games, Manning has completed just 55.3 percent of his passes for six touchdowns and three interceptions. <\/p>\n The performance from the much-hyped prospect has led to boos from Texas fans<\/a>, especially since Archie Manning\u2019s grandson was viewed as a Heisman Trophy contender before the season kicked off.<\/p>\n Arch Manning of the Texas Longhorns rushes for a touchdown against the San Jose State Spartans in the second half. Getty Images<\/p>\n Manning is looking to rebound against Sam Houston State, and ahead of the Saturday night matchup, ESPN\u2019s \u201cCollege GameDay\u201d hosts took a stab at why things have gone wrong for him.<\/p>\n Nick Saban, who guided a number of great quarterbacks when he coached at Alabama, said that going back to the basics will help Manning build confidence.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cLike, his mechanics are a little off; he\u2019s a little more side-armed than he was a year ago,\u201d he said. \u201cYou know, his footwork is not always exactly right in terms of his accuracy. I think it affects your confidence a little bit. I think he\u2019s relying a little bit too much on running now rather than reading things out.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t practice to get it right; you practice until you can\u2019t get it wrong,\u201d Saban added. \u201cAnd that\u2019s what you\u2019ve got to do, so you create the right habits so that you can play with great mechanics and good fundamentals.\u201d<\/p>\n Texas quarterback Arch Manning (16) warms up before an NCAA college football game against UTEP in Austin, Texas, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. AP<\/p>\n Pat McAfee and Kirk Herbstreit\u00a0both admitted they were part of the reason for the lofty expectations for Manning that might\u2019ve caused \u201cmental\u201d struggles for the young quarterback.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like I was part of the problem,\u201d McAfee said. \u201cYou know, I was crowning Arch before he even took a snap this year as the starter and before even seeing what this team was and how it was going to go for Arch Manning.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis kid\u2019s been throwing the football his whole life. And all of a sudden, he can\u2019t complete a pass in cases where the guys are wide open. It\u2019s mechanics, but I think it\u2019s emotional. It\u2019s mental,\u201d Herbstreit added. \u201cIt\u2019s what you\u2019re talking about. Unrealistic expectations \u2013 \u2018He\u2019s better than Peyton. He\u2019s better than Eli, he\u2019s the first pick next year in a draft,\u2019 and now this guy\u2019s got to go out and try to live up to that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Arch Manning\u2019s slow start to the 2025 season isn\u2019t totally affecting his potential NFL prospects, but some experts…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":383833,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[615,331,7,10667,6,8342,955,9,203,1078],"class_list":{"0":"post-383832","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-arch-manning","9":"tag-college-football","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-kirk-herbstreit","12":"tag-nfl","13":"tag-nick-saban","14":"tag-pat-mcafee","15":"tag-sports","16":"tag-sports-media","17":"tag-texas-longhorns"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115238806754904282","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=383832"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/383832\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/383833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=383832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=383832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=383832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}