Arch Manning made his first extended college football appearance on Saturday in the Texas Longhorns’ 56-7 win over UTSA. Manning replaced the injured Quinn Ewers, who suffered an oblique strain in the second quarter.
Ewers was a Heisman favorite over the weekend, and Texas didn’t let Manning come in for him get rattled. The redshirt freshman made an immediate impact, completing 9 of 12 passes for 223 yards and four touchdowns. He also wasted no time putting a 67-yard touchdown run on his highlight video that even caught the attention of Longhorns legend Vince Young.
Young wasn’t the only one impressed. ESPN’s Paul Finebaum was on TV this morning and made a bold prediction
Paul Finebaum says Arch Manning will be the first member of the Manning family to win the Heisman Trophy.
“Book it. Arch Manning is going to win the Heisman. I’m in. His grandfather and Peyton probably should have won it and Arch is going to… I don’t know if he’s going to win it this time… pic.twitter.com/iZneeHfa5P
— Awful Announcement (@awfulannouncing) 15 September 2024
“Book it,” Finebaum announced. “Arch Manning is going to win the Heisman. I’m in. And by the way, his grandfather and Peyton probably should have won it and Arch is going to win it. Can you believe that? He’s just replacing a Heisman favorite. I don’t know if he’s going to win it this year, but Arch Manning is definitely going to win the Heisman in Texas.”
Grandfather Archie Manning finished fourth in the 1969 Heisman voting and third in 1970. Uncle Peyton Manning finished sixth in 1995, eighth in 1996 and second as a senior in 1997. Archie was selected second in the 1971 NFL Draft and Peyton was selected first in 1998.
Now that he has thrown 23 passes in his college career, expectations for Arch are officially out of control.
