At least one football analyst has completed a full 180 on Texas phenom Arch Manning from his opening-week stinker against Ohio State, and is ready to declare the star quarterback a top NFL prospect once again.
During an episode of his Football 301 podcast at Yahoo this week, former Wisconsin quarterback turned football commentator Nate Tice capped off a segment covering the top QBs in the 2026 NFL Draft class by returning once again to Austin and the youngest star in the royal family of quarterbacking.
Tice said he currently has Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza as his “QB1,” but argued that if Manning were to declare early and leave the Longhorns after three seasons, he would rise to the top of the crowded field.
“I know people consider this guy the biggest bust in college football history, (but) Arch Manning, if he were to declare — and I don’t think he will — would be the No. 1 pick,” Tice said.
“I’m not hot-taking this right now. I am dead serious. He is playing really freaking good football. I know people see the end game stuff, but tools, body of work, he’s the whole freaking offense at Texas. His ability to create, his pocket movement, his deep-ball ability, his ability to throw at awkward angles, his ridiculous core strength. Yeah, he would be the No. 1 pick. He’s really freaking good, guys. I know the hype train has cooled down, but it should start building right back up, because Arch Manning: really, really good.”
The draft chatter died down quickly after Manning barely completed half his passes at Ohio Stadium in Week 1 and followed that L up with a weak showing against UTEP a couple of weeks later. But over the past month in SEC play, Manning and the Longhorns have carved up Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, and Arkansas (with an ugly loss to Georgia tucked in).
The bounce-back was enough for ABC’s Sean McDonough and Greg McElroy to restart the Heisman campaign for Arch during the broadcast of Texas’ win over Vandy.
It’s hard to tell whether the post-hype Manning praise is more a result of his own improvements or the seemingly weak QB class in 2026, but Tice, for one, sounds pretty effusive in his belief in Manning as a future stud.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.