Quarterback Arch Manning has played little in his first two seasons with the Texas Longhorns, but he’s already drawing comparisons to a Heisman winner.
On a Tuesday episode of “Get Up,” ESPN’s Paul Finebaum said Manning is the “best college quarterback we have seen since Tim Tebow entered the scene in 2006.”
That’s a high bar for Manning, who’s set to replace Quinn Ewers (now with the Miami Dolphins) this upcoming season.
Yes, Tebow played for the Denver Broncos and New York Jets for only three seasons, but that doesn’t detract from his legacy with the Florida Gators.
He won two national championships and the 2007 Heisman in four seasons with the Gators. In a list published in March 2025, ESPN’s Bill Connelly ranked him as the fourth-best college QB since 2000.
Manning has flashed immense potential. He threw just five passes in his first season at Texas but played more last season after Ewers suffered an oblique injury in a 56-7 Week 3 win over UTSA.
Manning went 2-0 in two starts against the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks and Mississippi State Bulldogs. He finished the season with 13 touchdowns (nine passing and four rushing) and 1,047 yards (939 passing and 108 rushing) in 10 games.
Those numbers are similar to those Tebow produced in his first season at Florida when it used him in specific packages. In 14 games, Tebow logged 13 TDs (five passing and eight rushing) and 827 yards (358 passing and 469 rushing).
Tebow’s flawed throwing mechanics limited him as a passer throughout his career. Manning, however, likely has much more arm talent.
“Arch made a throw [at the Manning Passing Academy] the other day that I’d have to hit the cutoff man to get the ball to the actual receiver,” Arch’s uncle, two-time Super Bowl champion Peyton, told ESPN’s Pat McAfee Monday.
Arch Manning will face his first true test when the Longhorns play the Ohio State Buckeyes on the road in Week 1 on Aug. 30. If he delivers in that matchup, perhaps it’ll be the start of a prolific college career that mirrors that of Tebow.