Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning is currently tied with Notre Dame Fighting Irish star CJ Carr as the favorite for this year’s Heisman Trophy. Manning received preseason Heisman shouts last year, but a slow start to the season ended his chances of winning the prestigious accolade.
Manning is also one of the prospects considered a potential No. 1 pick in the loaded 2027 NFL Draft class.
Arch Manning Receives Mixed NFL Draft Evaluations
On Friday, ESPN’s Jordan Reid evaluated the much-hyped 2027 NFL Draft class, and league scouts had mixed perceptions of Manning. One NFC scout compared him to Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones’ middling career, while an AFC scout was enthused by the Texas quarterback’s bounce-back last season.
“Everyone’s falling in love with the future vision of the player, and he simply hasn’t shown anything close to that right now,” an NFC scout said. “I see Daniel Jones when I watch him — a good, not great, prospect.”
“He was simply trying to do too much early on, but I thought he relaxed around midseason and put some really good stuff on tape,” an AFC national scout said.
After playing second fiddle to Quinn Ewers at Texas for two seasons, Manning finally got his chance as the Longhorns’ QB1 last year. He had a shaky performance against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Longhorns’ season-opening game, and the team’s offense struggled until mid-October.
Manning finally found his confidence and led the Longhorns to seven wins in their last eight games, tallying 15 touchdowns to 2 interceptions in those games. In that stretch, the Longhorns beat four ranked teams, and Manning managed 7 scores and 0 interceptions in those high-profile games.
The Texas QB will have intense competition to be the 2027 NFL Draft class’s QB1 with Oregon Ducks star Dante Moore and Carr also in contention.
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Steve Sarkisian Praises Manning’s Attitude
While speaking to reporters during the SEC Media Days in Tampa on Thursday, coach Steve Sarkisian praised Manning for how he dealt with the criticism leveled at him during a difficult season.
“Arch Manning wasn’t going around posting on social media [that] ‘I’m going to be the first pick or I’m going to be the Heisman Trophy winner,'” Sarkisian said. “Quite frankly, he just worked really hard and tried to be the best player and teammate he could be.
“Then he doesn’t play great, and we don’t play great, and he takes, in my opinion, some real tough criticism and some would say disrespectful criticism… Because he didn’t live up to what they thought he was going to be. What he got put through probably would have destroyed 99 percent of people in his shoes.”
Last season, Manning registered 3,163 passing yards on 61.4% completion, resulting in 26 touchdowns and 7 interceptions, while adding 399 rushing yards and 10 scores, earning a PFN College QB Impact score of 83.1.
