Arch Manning hasn’t even started his sophomore year of high school at Isidore Newman (New Orleans), and already he’s a hot topic in recruiting.

As a freshman on the varsity team, Manning threw for over 2,400 yards and 34 touchdowns. They weren’t pop passes and screens either; this kid is a prolific young quarterback. The nephew of Peyton and Eli, Arch looks to be next great quarterback in the family.

The young quarterback is already rumored to be looking at 5 programs, with 4 of them in the SEC — Georgia, LSU, Tennessee and Ole Miss. Duke is the other school, as the Mannings have ties with head coach David Cutcliffe.

Cooper Manning spoke with Off The Bench with T-Bob and Culotta, and he was asked about his son.

“Arch, he loves football,” Cooper Manning said. “He’s enjoying his friends and the workouts and growing. He’s kind of had a growth spurt here in the last couple months. Enjoying being in the weight room and throwing. He just loves it. If it was me pressuring him to play or hurry up and get ready, it’s kind of always been, ‘Hey, can you come catch for me? Can we go throw? Can you feed me hoops?’ My boys are like that. Just makes it a lot easier as a parent.”

It was recently reported that Arch grew 2 inches and gained 25 pounds this summer. He’s now up to 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds. The oldest Manning was then asked specifically about LSU with respect to his son.

“It’s funny. All my good friends locally in New Orleans are big LSU fans; so, they’ve been giving him a hard time for a long time about coming up to Baton Rouge,” Cooper said. “They’ve got a great program, and Coach O has done unbelievable. Arch is friends with Walker Howard, who just committed there. They’re good buddies for a long time, and I know Jamie well.

“They’ve got it going right now, no question. It’s exciting to see. Great for the state and great for the SEC.”

Arch won’t face any pressure from his family about where he ends up playing college football, and it’ll ultimately be up to the young quarterback.

“We’re open to sending our kids wherever they want to go to school,” Cooper said. “I don’t think MIT is calling anytime soon. We raise them to do what they want to do. They make decisions and we support them. That’s the way it works.”

2023 is a ways away, but quarterbacks are making decisions earlier and earlier in their high school careers. It’s important to note that Arch can’t be contacted by schools yet due to his age.

Cooper mentioned even at Arch’s age that Peyton didn’t have any recruiting letters yet.