Arch Manning made the first start of his young career for Texas on Saturday, and it was a bit of a mixed bag.
It was always going to be tough for Manning to live up to his name. Arch is the grandson of legendary Ole Miss quarterback Archie Manning, and his uncles are NFL legends Eli Manning and Peyton Manning.
Manning threw an interception on his first drive on Saturday but responded by going 15-for-29 for 258 yards and two touchdowns. Although, Manning did give up another interception in the contest.
ESPN’s Paul Finebaum was frank in his assessment, acknowledging that Manning didn’t look as good as he did the week before when he stepped in after Quinn Ewers went down with an injury.
“When you throw an interception right out of the gate, it’s going to rattle you,” Finebaum said, per Athlon Sports. “I thought he recovered. It was against a very pedestrian team, and he definitely took a step back. It’s new to him, and I’ll cut him some slack.”
For now Arch is getting some grace from the media, but if he continues to turn the ball over in conference play analysts won’t be so forgiving.
It’s unclear who will start for Texas in its upcoming game against Mississippi State, as Ewers continues to work his way back from injury. Head Coach Steve Sarkisian told reporters that although Ewers has practiced some, his game status is questionable.
If Arch does get the nod it’ll be interesting to see if he can get his name back in the Heisman conversation.
