Arch Manning Was Never Priority For Ohio State During His Recruitment

The hype surrounding the No. 1 Texas Longhorns in the 2025 season is simply astonishing, especially for quarterback Arch Manning as the sophomore gears up to officially take the reins of the Longhorns offense after Quinn Ewers was drafted to the NFL.

And the star's first challenge as the leader of the Longhorns will not be easy by any means, as the Horns meet the Ohio State Buckeyes this Saturday in a rematch of last year's College Football Playoff semifinal that saw the Buckeyes punch their ticket to their eventual national championship.

Everyone knows that Ewers was a quarterback under Day at Ohio State, but what if we said that there was a chance that the two quarterbacks would've been the tandem that they were at Texas, but in Columbus?

"He Had His Mind Set on Texas"

During his media availability Tuesday, Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day spoke on his connection (if any) that he had with Arch Manning while the young star was being recruited, and by the coach's response, it doesn't sound like Ohio State had much of a chance at getting him.

"Very little (communication with Manning)," Day said. "I think that he had his mind set up that he wanted to play down south, and we'd talk a little bit here and there for sure with his dad, Cooper, but not a whole bunch. He kind of had his mind set."

Either way, it seems that Manning would have turned out pretty good with whatever decision he made on schools.

Manning is set to lead the Longhorns after starting two games in place of Ewers during the 2024 season, where he truly showed that he is capable of leading the team to greatness, and over his 10 games played over the year, he completed 61 of 90 attempted passes for 939 yards with nine touchdowns and two interceptions, and also showed prowess with his legs, taking off 25 times for 108 yards and four touchdowns.

Between the performance of the two quarterbacks, the Longhorns rode a 13-3 record, found themselves in the SEC Championship against Georgia after a dominant win over the Texas A&M Aggies at Kyle Field, and for the second consecutive year found themselves in the semifinals of the College Football Playoff.

Now that Manning has had some exposure to the bigger stage and being at or near the top of the ranks, he will look to take advantage of his championship-winning pedigree and lead the team to their first national championship in 20 years.

The Longhorns and Buckeyes kick off from Ohio Stadium in Columbus this Saturday at 11:00 AM.