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Ed Orgeron Compares Arch Manning to Current Star NFL Quarterback
The Arch Manning era at Texas will officially begin in a few weeks when the Longhorns take on the defending-champion Ohio State Buckeyes a week from Saturday in Columbus.
Manning will be facing a ton of pressure from the moment that game begins, as expectations for the QB are sky-high heading into his first season as the team's starting quarterback. Texas is ranked No. 1 to start the season and he'll be thrown right to the wolves in the road opener against a Buckeyes team that is ranked No. 3 in the country.
Ed Orgeron, who won a national title during his days as the head coach at LSU, raised those expectations a little bit higher this week when he compared Manning to a current NFL star quarterback that the former coach knows pretty well—Joe Burrow.
During an appearance on Pardon My Take, Orgeron didn't hesitate to name Manning as the one quarterback he would choose to lead a team in college football this year.
Then he made the Burrow comparison.
“And I'll say this conservatively... but Arch is as close to, or maybe as good as Joe [Burrow] as I've seen. And I've never said that about anybody”
Here's that clip:
Coach O on @PardonMyTake about Arch Manning:
— Arch Manning Highlights (@ArchHighlights) August 18, 2025
“And I'll say this conservatively…but Arch is as close to -- or maybe as good as -- Joe [Burrow] as I've seen. And I've never said that about anybody”
Says if he could coach any QB this season it would be Arch pic.twitter.com/zo6NQQSCWp
Burrow, of course, was the QB on Orgeron's LSU team that won a national title. He also won the Heisman that year.
Will Manning be able to do either of those things in his first full year as a starter? We'll have to wait and see. But it's safe to say all eyes will be on him all year long, starting with that juicy showdown against Ohio State.
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Andy Nesbitt is the assistant managing editor of audience engagement at Sports Illustrated. He works closely with the Breaking and Trending News team to shape SI’s daily coverage across all sports. A 20-year veteran of the sports media business, he has worked for Fox Sports, For the Win, The Boston Globe and NBC Sports, having joined SI in February 2023. Nesbitt is a golf fanatic who desperately wants to see the Super Bowl played on a Saturday night.