Once upon a time, Arch Manning cared about football. He cared about it so much that he was willing to sit for a year behind Quinn Ewers in order to pursue excellence. He cared about it so much that he wouldn’t appear in a college football video game. Multiple sources told Anwar Richardson, “Arch is focused on playing football on the field.”
Now?
Well, you can see for yourself.
Uncles, man.
What we should clearly make of this, as the Austin media, is that Arch Manning doesn’t care anymore. Once upon a time, Arch Manning loved the game. Vanity meant nothing to him. All that mattered was football. Only a few months later, having experienced his first April and May at UT? The guy loosened up like a bolt on a Boeing.
It starts with the video game. Video games are fun. Video games are normal in college. But you know what else is fun and normal in college? Drinking a ton of beer. And you know what beer leads to? Drugs. And you know what drugs lead to? Well…
I’m not saying Arch Manning is going to kill someone because he backed down from his commitment to the sport of football.
But what could Aaron Hernandez have been, had TE #81 not played for the Florida Gators in NCAA Football 07?
Some have theorized that this was a leverage play. I may have even theorized this. (I am forgetting a lot of takes these days. Thankfully, this has yet to put me in a pickle of any consequence.) The theory holds that the Manning family was worried about Arch not grading out as a 90 or better overall, and that they held out as leverage until they secured not only an NIL deal, but that coveted 90+ overall rating to go with it. Why was this so important? The more common variant of the theory was that the Mannings are vain. The more credible one was that Eli really wanted to play the game as Texas because he likes Texas’s uniforms, but his dad told him he couldn’t play as Texas unless he subbed in Arch for Ewers. And Eli really did not want to get grounded during the last few weeks of summer vacation.
Whatever the logic, the theory was wrong. Arch Manning was the greatest recruit in football history. EA Sports understands hype. If Colorado can go 7–5 in simulated seasons, Arch Manning was going to be at least a 97 overall. As he should have been! Given what he was back when the data was gathered. Back when the data was gathered, Arch Manning still cared. Now? If this game has a commitment rating, Arch’s should be a negative number.
Quick(er) Hitters
The big recruiting news last week was Texas missing out on Dakorien Moore, a five-star receiver from Duncanville who many predicted would land in Austin. They also lost four-star defensive line recruit Brandon Brown, though, and Brown had actually committed. Which is worse to lose? The five-star you should have had, or the four-star you did? If only Shakespeare lived in Bastrop. We would have such a good play about this.
Moore’s headed to Oregon. Brown’s flipping to LSU.
In happier recruiting news, the Horns landed four-star cornerback Kade Phillips, from Hightower High School (Missouri City address, Fort Bend ISD). Bet Moore and Brown feel pretty foolish now.
Nothing from any other sports. As it should be.
