Texas Football: 3 implications of Arch Manning committing to Longhorns

1. Steve Sarkisian landed the biggest recruit in college football history

Steve Sarkisian landing Arch Manning is enormous. Of the teams that were considered finalists for Arch, the Longhorns needed him most. The Steve Sarkisian era got off to a mediocre start finishing 5-7, including losing to Kansas. In addition, Texas did not have a player drafted this year.

Sarkisian had to prove he could recruit a big-time player and Texas had to prove they could still land a big-time player. True, Quinn Ewers committed to the Longhorns before transferring to Ohio State to get his NIL deal. However, even Ewers- the second of the three 1.000 rated Texas quarterbacks- was not received with this much hype.

Manning gives this regime a legitimate cache in recruiting as Arch will attract other top-end recruits to Austin. He is the first number one recruit to sign with Texas in the ESPN 300 era and the first top 20 quarterback since Garrett Gilbert signed in 2009.

Manning gives Sarkisian arguably the most competitive quarterback room in the country. Arch will join Ewers, Hudson Card, and Maalik Murphy in Austin. Though one or more will likely transfer, there is the possibility they could all be on the roster in 2023.

Arch gives the ‘Horns potentially a great bridge to the SEC when they join. If Ewers is everything everyone thinks he is, he’ll play two seasons and be off to the NFL. Manning could potentially start for Texas when they join the conference.