Report: Arch Manning Planning to Visit Florida Gators This Summer
Quarterback options in the class of 2023 are a bit limited at this time. In a top-heavy class, blue blood programs are left with few top passing prospects to choose from this year with five of the consensus top ten signal-callers already committed elsewhere.
That being said, the top quarterback — by consensus rankings and certainly by name recognition — remains available, that being Arch Manning of Isidore Newman (La.).
And the Florida Gators are in the mix for his services.
In a rare interview with the nephew of Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning and likely future Hall of Fame passer Eli Manning, On3Sports reported on Monday evening that Manning intends to visit Florida over the summer once he wraps up spring practices, as well as several other schools.
Manning told On3 Texas, Alabama and Georgia are all under consideration, and he’s planning visits to see both LSU and Florida.
“I’ve had a few conversations with Florida. I’ve heard a lot of good things about [head] coach [Billy] Napier, so I might want to get check [sic] and see what they’re all about.”
A three-year varsity starter at Isidore Newman, Manning has completed 64.8 percent of his passes for 5,731 yards, 72 touchdowns and 18 interceptions, while rushing for an additional 671 yards and 17 touchdowns on 83 attempts.
Standing at 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, Manning possesses a college-ready frame and plenty of both talents and smarts to pair. His pocket presence is, perhaps as expected, already fantastic for a quarterback of his age, and he can make throws to every level of the field with power, accuracy, and timeliness. Unlike his uncles, Manning is athletic enough to pose a threat as a rusher as well.
Napier and his Florida staff have pursued a small handful of 2023 quarterbacks thus far, such as Long Beach Poly's (Calif.) Nicholaus Iamaleava, King's (Mich.) Dante Moore, Briarwood Christian's (Ala.) Christopher Vizzina, Zachary's (La.) Eli Holstein and Brookwood's (Ga.) Dylan Lonergan.
Iamaleava and Vizzina, however, have already pledged elsewhere, while the remaining quarterbacks are being heavily pursued and even projected to enroll at other schools at this time.
Therefore, UF doesn't have a ton of serious options remaining at the quarterback position in the class of 2023. Although the Gators currently have an outside shot at landing Manning, it might be time for Napier to push all of his chips on the NFL legacy prospect if UF intends to land a top quarterback this year.
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