Longhorns Commit Arch Manning Debuts As No. 10 Overall Recruit, No. 5 QB in 2023 SI99 Rankings
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This summer, the Texas Longhorns went on a historic run on the recruiting trail landing the nation's most sought-after recruit quarterback Arch Manning, followed by an influx of elite commitments in the ensuing days and weeks.
And as the nation's unanimous top quarterback at the time, it made sense. Other players naturally gravitate towards elite signal callers, and per all the major recruiting services, Manning was the best of the best.
However, that is no longer the case, according to Sports Illustrated, which ranked Manning as the No. 10 overall recruit and the No. 5 quarterback in the country in their preseason 2023 SI99 rankings.
Sitting in front of Manning on the quarterback list are No. 1 overall recruit Dante Moore (Oregon), No. 4 overall recruit Nico Iamaleava (Tennessee), No. 7 overall recruit Jaden Rashada (Miami), and No. 8 overall recruit Malachi Nelson (USC) -- each of which has an argument to be above the Longhorns prized commit.
You can read Sports Illustrated's reasoning behind naming Moore No. 1 above Manning below:
Earlier this summer, we broke down those five as the QB prospects having seemingly separated themselves from the rest in the race. There is plenty of depth at the position, considering 11 made the SI99 at quarterback. We went category by category, and at that point Iamaleava and Manning appeared as the best bets. The Tennessee commitment is the highest-ceiling prospect, and the future Longhorn has the strongest floor in the department. But with more digging done over the last two months—from cross-checking more video, sourcing and of course the Elite 11 Finals at the end of that month—things changed.
Moore forced his hand the rest of the offseason, capturing SI’s MVP honor at the Elite 11 to cap it, reminding the country of his consistency, prowess and production in any quarterback setting. Just last week, Moore’s own head coach admitted he saw more of his QB than he had in the last three years while being put through some of the situations the Elite 11 personnel did. Couple it with his state title run in 2021, which also came with gaudy production (3,000 yards, 40 TDs, three INTs), and his run over the last year was just better than that of his peers.
To be fair, SI's reasoning is sound in terms of Manning's spot.
Moore has had the most impressive year overall of any quarterback in terms of production and accolades. Iamaleava is arguably the most talented prospect from a tools standpoint, and Nelson and Rashada face some of the highest competition in the country in California and have proved time and time again at events such as Elite 11 that they are also worthy of consideration.
Manning, on the other hand, faces a lower level of competition at Isidore Newman in Louisiana. While he has excelled at that level, he did not participate in any spring or summer camps -- including against nation's the top competition at Elite 11.
On the bright side for Manning, these rankings are not final, and are set to be reevaluated later this fall before the Early Signing Period. Meaning that Manning will have nearly an entire season in a new, wide-open offense to close the gap and prove his case against the rest of the field.
Either way, this is no reason to fret for Longhorns fans. When it boils down to it, recruiting rankings are not a static measure of a recruit's future outlook.
Manning is still an elite prospect and arguably the best of the best, and the impact of his commitment on both the program and the recruiting trail shows no signs of slowing down.
You can follow Matt Galatzan on Twitter @MattGalatzan
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