Arch Manning was the No. 1 player in the 2023 recruiting class. Heck, the son of Cooper Manning, nephew of Eli and Peyton Manning and grandson of Archie Manning was one of the highest-rated recruits of all time.

On Saturday, Manning could have seen some action in his first collegiate game for the Texas Longhorns as his team worked on a blowout win over Rice.

Manning wasn’t second on the depth chart behind starter Quinn Ewers. That honor went to Maalik Murphy. But late in the third quarter, Manning was spotted getting loose on the sidelines:

Once the fourth quarter began, fans were expecting to see Manning on the field leading the offense. Instead, he stayed on the bench and didn’t get in the game at all as the Longhorns won 37-10.

Manning would be the last person to complain about not seeing action in his first college game, but we’ll let Texas fans take it from here, as they certainly had plenty to say on social media:

Texas plays at Alabama next weekend in one of the biggest nonconference games of the year. Barring something extreme happening, it doesn’t seem likely he’ll see his first collegiate snaps in that contest.

But crazy things happen, especially when it comes to QB injuries for Texas when it plays Alabama (just ask Ewers). Hopefully everyone stays healthy, but if they don’t, Manning will be ready to play if his name is called.