Joel Klatt ranks Arch Manning among top 5 players for 2025 season
Published:
Joel Klatt is a big believer in Texas quarterback Arch Manning.
Like many in the college football media sphere, Klatt is expecting Manning to be a big upgrade over multi-year starter Quinn Ewers in 2025. So much so that Klatt ranked Manning at No. 4 on his preseason list of the top-10 players in college football, which he released on Monday.
Even with only 2 starts last season, Klatt argued that Manning “deserves” a spot in the top-5. Bettors agree. Manning has the best odds to win the Heisman Trophy.
“Arch Manning deserves a spot on this list,” Klatt said. “If you just look at the way that he played when he got his chances to play, it was dynamic. We only got to see him for a little bit.”
Manning attempted 90 passes last season, most of which came in relief of an injured Ewers vs. UTSA and then in two starts vs. Louisiana-Monroe and Mississippi State. In total, he threw for 939 yards, 9 touchdowns and 2 interceptions on those 90 passes.
“In his two starts, that’s when I thought his potential popped,” Klatt said. “In his two starts, he reminded me a lot of Trevor Lawrence when Trevor Lawrence was at Clemson.”
Klatt also said he expects Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns to draw up more down-field passing plays this season. The advanced stats back up that claim. Pro Football Focus says Manning had an average depth of target of 11.1 yards last season while Ewers was down at 7.9. Ewers’ ADOT ranked 18th out of 21 SEC quarterbacks who registered at least 100 drop-backs last season, ahead of only Jackson Arnold and Graham Mertz. Manning ranked 4th in that category.
Texas will open the 2025 season against Ohio State on Aug. 30.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
