Arch Manning recruitment: Schools with best chance to sign No. 1 quarterback

Who has a shot to sign Arch Manning?

No player in the 2023 college football recruiting class has aroused as much interest as Arch Manning.

1. Alabama Crimson Tide

Chance to sign Arch Manning: 35.6 percent

Need to know: What quarterback doesn't want to play for Nick Saban? You're virtually guaranteed a spot in the College Football Playoff and favored to win the national championship almost every year.

Arch Manning took in the Crimson Tide's dominant win over Ole Miss last fall, and previously called the program "a machine." And his skill set matched with the most spread-oriented offense Saban has run in recent seasons.

Bryce Young should enter the NFL Draft after 2022, leaving a clear path for Arch to step into a quarterback race with Ty Simpson, another 5-star prospect.

2. Texas Longhorns

Chance to sign Arch Manning: 31.4 percent

Need to know: Texas has gone back and forth in the race to sign the quarterback, who apparently has been quite impressed with the school during the process. Manning has taken five trips to Austin up to now, keeping the Longhorns well in the thick of things. Head coach Steve Sarkisian called Alabama's offense during the national title run in 2020, when the Crimson Tide ran through everyone on the schedule using a pro-style, spread-oriented offense that Manning excels in.

3. Georgia Bulldogs

Chance to sign Arch Manning: 27.2 percent

Need to know: Georgia fans gave Arch Manning a very warm welcome during his visit to see the Bulldogs' 40-13 win over South Carolina. And looking at the future, it's easy to see Manning in a Georgia uniform.

Kirby Smart — whose offense Manning said he could see himself playing in — could be in the market for a quarterback. Stetson Bennett returns for 2022, but what then? Four-stars Carson Beck and Gunner Stockton are in the mix, as is 5-star Brock Vandagriff.

That figures to be a crowded QB room going forward, but you can see one of those options transferring out as things get shuffled around. Analysts on the ground continue to favor the Bulldogs in Manning's decision.

4. Ole Miss Rebels

Chance to sign Arch Manning: 3.0 percent

Need to know: The connections here are only too obvious. The name Manning is sacrosanct in Oxford, where Archie and Eli and both football legends beyond reproach. And where Arch's father, Cooper, played briefly.

Rebels coach Lane Kiffin had a long talk with the 2023 prospect last fall, when the team retired Eli's number. "Probably the best conversation he had," according to Arch Manning's high school coach.

Ole Miss comes into a transitional phase with quarterback Matt Corral leaving for the NFL. And the Rebs certainly impressed this past season, scoring over 33 points per game. But the play-caller behind that unit is gone — Jeff Lebby took the OC job at Oklahoma; he had been building a relationship with Manning at Ole Miss before then.

Arch Manning stats

As a junior at Isidore Newman in New Orleans, Manning threw for 1,947 yards and 26 touchdowns to four interceptions with another seven rushing scores.

In his high school career, he’s thrown for 6,307 yards as a starter in three seasons with 81 touchdowns passing and 19 rushing. He averages almost 13 yards per pass, over 212 passing yards per game, and has 18 career interceptions.

Manning is the consensus No. 1 quarterback and overall player regardless of position in the 2023 college football recruiting class.

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