Arch Manning includes Johnny Manziel in list of favorite QBs he watched growing up
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Arch Manning is set to step in as Texas‘s starting quarterback in 2025, the culmination of immense media attention he’s received since long before his college days began.
Of course, Manning’s grandfather, Archie, starred behind center at Ole Miss before his uncle Eli donned a Rebels jersey and afterward won a pair of Super Bowls with the New York Giants. Then there’s obviously his other uncle, Peyton, a 2-time Super Bowl champion who’s in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Quarterback certainly is a family business in the Manning family, and while he’s undoubtedly watched his uncles play the game, Manning, at SEC Media Days on Tuesday, named a few other QBs he’s been able to study closely. And one may jump out more than the others.
“I like watching Cam (Newton) and then Johnny Manziel and then on to Burrow,” Manning said, according to The Next Round. “I’ve watched a lot of Burrow lately. I think right now it’s kind of Burrow and Josh Allen. I’m a football fan, so I like watching all those guys.”
No one can argue the success that Manziel had at Texas A&M, and that includes Longhorns fans. That said, they’ll hope that Arch Manning’s personality ultimately doesn’t mirror that of Johnny Football’s too much.
And while Longhorns fans would love to see Manning become the program’s first Heisman Trophy winner since Ricky Williams in 1998 — nearly a decade and a half before Manziel won it in 2012 — they’d love even more to see the program’s first national championship since 2005.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
