What Arch Manning’s commitment means for Texas, college football

When a five-star quarterback by the name of Arch Manning commits to your program, it’s bound to have a ripple effect on college football recruiting.

Manning revealed his choice Thursday, picking the Longhorns over a list of top suitors that included Georgia, Alabama, LSU and Clemson.

After Peyton and Eli Manning’s nephew announced his commitment to the University of Texas, Joel Klatt spoke with Joy Taylor about what it means for the Longhorns and head coach Steve Sarkisian.

Arch Manning’s commitment to Texas sends ripple effects throughout CFB | THE HERD

Joel Klatt talks about Peyton and Eli Manning’s nephew Arch Manning commitment to the University of Texas.

“It’s fascinating because they’ve stacked up commitments year after year after year, and I keep thinking to myself, like, we’ve got a quarterback battle at Texas going into this fall,” Klatt said.

The former No. 2 high school quarterback from the 2020 class, Hudson Card, and the former No. 1 quarterback from the 2021 class, Quinn Ewers, will be battling for the starting role at Texas this fall. Next fall, one or both of them will likely battle for the starting spot again with Manning.

“I find it fascinating. You start to look in the crystal ball and realize that maybe one of these guys will finish their career at Texas,” Klatt said. “I think Steve Sarkisian understands that he can and might have to back up every single class with a great player.”

“Gone are the days when you can say, ‘Look, we’re going to take one great quarterback prospect in one class, and then we’re going to wait for a class or two before we go after another one,” Klatt added.

Manning deciding to take his talents to Texas could change the landscape of Longhorns football for the foreseeable future, not only because of his production on the field but also the Manning football legacy.

“Sarkisian may have won the most coveted prize that we may have ever seen in recruiting,” Klatt said. “It’s not just because that guy chose Texas, it’s that the Manning family chose Texas and Steve Sarkisian.”

Klatt believes this commitment will send Texas into another stratosphere as far as recruiting goes.

“Every single recruit out there, particularly offensive skill position recruits are going to be looking at this and saying, ‘It doesn’t matter who wins this position, we’re going to have a quarterback at Texas who is outstanding.”

Texas could be set for years to come, but only time will tell if the Longhorns are truly back.