Arch Manning recently committed to Steve Sarkisian and the Texas Longhorns. The other 2 schools considered widely to be among his favorites were Alabama and Georgia.

So, why did the nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning and son of Cooper Manning choose to head to Austin instead of Tuscaloosa or Athens?

David Cutcliffe, now working with the SEC after a long coaching career, is very familiar with the Manning family, having coached both Peyton and Eli in college.

He spoke with DawgNation recently to weigh in on why the No. 1 player in the 2023 recruiting class may have picked Texas over Alabama and Tennessee:

“I think the fact Texas is joining the Southeastern Conference kind of put them in the game,” Cutcliffe said. “I’ll go out on a limb, but when I looked at it, I thought, Hmm, Georgia is a big rival of Tennessee, and Alabama is a big rival of Ole Miss, and Ole Miss is Ole Miss. So you can be in the conference but not be in direct competition with family, so to speak. Nobody may ever tell you — but that was my take on Texas being a good choice for him.”

Will Manning find success at Texas? We’ll see what happens in 2023 and beyond.