Paul Finebaum's Arch Manning Take Is Going to Provide So Much Entertainment

Finebaum's strong take has him responding to former 'Bachelor' contestants
Paul Finebaum
Paul Finebaum / Get Up
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Perhaps no one is higher on Arch Manning's potential than Paul Finebaum. ESPN's college football contributor surprised a lot of people a few weeks ago when he posited that the Texas Longhorns signal-caller may be the best college football quarterback since Tim Tebow.

It really is difficult to imagine crafting a better take as all the best ingredients are being combined with maximum efficiency. With his lineage, Manning is something we haven't seen in the sport for a long time and this fall will present his most complete examination under the brightest microscope. There are circus-like elements to the story and yet nothing compared to the years Tebow dominated conversation while winning multiple national championships at Florida.

Jordan Rodgers, former Vanderbilt quarterback and current analyst, sees things a bit differently as he has Manning rated as the fifth-best quarterback in the SEC, along the way making assertions that there's been some Kool-Aid drinking going on.

Finebaum then responded to that—as the wheel goes 'round and 'round—on Tuesday's Get Up. And he did so by bringing up Rodgers's star turn as a winning contestant on The Bachelor.

A few things here. Excellent cross-promotion going on by all involved. More importantly, this might be a sneak peak at Finebaum's life from now on. Calling Arch Manning the next Tebow is a bold move and he's going to be asked about it every day. It will get worse should Texas struggle. He won't be able to escape it.

It's not even mid-July either. There are still several weeks before Manning can even begin to deliver on these high expectations. Finebaum's just going to have to hang in there, hoping he's able to give one of the more well-earned 'I told you so's' in years.


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Kyle Koster
KYLE KOSTER

Kyle Koster is an assistant managing editor at Sports Illustrated covering the intersection of sports and media. He was formerly the editor in chief of The Big Lead, where he worked from 2011 to '24. Koster also did turns at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he created the Sports Pros(e) blog, and at Woven Digital.