The SEC is loaded with quarterback talent heading into the 2025 season. Players like Arch Manning, Garrett Nussmeier, and LaNorris Sellers are all projected to be first-round selections in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Despite the quarterbacks playing on separate teams, Nussmeier and Manning have built a strong relationship off the field. As the season looms, the Texas quarterback explained that while he’s friends with Nussmier, he knows the LSU quarterback will be a competitor come fall.
Arch Manning Says He and Garrett Nussmeier Share the Same Championship Mindset
It’s not uncommon for quarterbacks on opposing teams to become friends. During the offseason, quarterbacks often train together, work out together, and watch tape together.
Not only do Arch Manning and Garrett Nussmeier both play for SEC programs, but their upbringings were deeply rooted in football.
Manning is the nephew of NFL greats Peyton and Eli, while Nussmeier is the son of Doug, the New Orleans Saints’ offensive coordinator. Interestingly, Peyton and Doug played together on the Indianapolis Colts during Manning’s rookie year.
The two young quarterbacks were raised in similar households, and they have formed a bond. Manning recently told On3’s Pete Nakos that he looks up to the LSU quarterback.
NEW: Arch Manning tells @PeteNakos_ he looks up to LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier, but now the two signal-callers share the same goals🏆
“I think we’re both on the same page about that. SEC championship and national championship.”
Story: https://t.co/Hpk0XR9wsn pic.twitter.com/Lki07jqcx6
— On3 (@On3sports) June 26, 2025
“It’s cool having a guy like Nuss to look up to, he kind of had the same situation as me, just sitting for a few years, then going to play, and he played well,” Manning told Nakos. “I’ve watched a lot of his films. He’s a good player, looking up to him is fun.”
While the two friends are off the field, Manning acknowledged that he and Nussmeier will strive for the same goal once the season starts.
“I think we’re both on the same page about that,” Manning told Nakos. “SEC championship and national championship.”
Nussmeier and Manning are regarded as two of the best quarterbacks in the country.
Nussmeier is coming off a season where he threw for over 4,000 yards with LSU and will enter his second year as the Tigers’ starter in 2025.
Manning is the former No. 1 recruit in the nation and showed what he could do in a limited sample size last season, throwing for over 900 yards and nine touchdowns.
Both quarterbacks have phenomenal rosters built around them, and it’s not out of the question that fans could see a matchup between these guys in the SEC Championship game.
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The two have never faced off head-to-head and won’t play during the 2025 regular season, but they will be competing for the same goals as they try to cement themselves into college football history.
