'His dad was a nobody' - Radio show host in rival SEC territory may have just made things personal with Texas QB Arch Manning

A radio show host in Oklahoma isn't buying the hype surrounding Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning.

Manning, who is entering his third season at Texas, is viewed by many as the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy in 2025. The former five-star recruit has just two starts under his belt (against Louisiana Monroe and Mississippi State), but he looked dynamic enough in those two starts to make folks believe that he's a future superstar.

KREF's Blake Gamble, the co-host of The Plank Show, however, isn't sold that Manning is the real deal. That’s partly, he says, because Arch’s dad, Cooper, was a "nobody" in football.

"Is he going to play up to the hype? Doubtful," said Gamble. "I give that about a milk percent chance, you know, if you follow -- skim to two percent.

"It's funny because I was watching a Texas preview video on Pro Football Focus -- very data heavy guys, right? And they talked about in the couple of grades of the games that he did play, he graded out very well against lesser competition. But then this one guy, he goes, 'I'm going to break it down as simply as possible -- he is a Manning.' And I just stopped right where I was. I was like, why? Why do you give him that credit? I know who his grandpa is, I know who his uncles are, but his dad was a nobody. [Cooper] is a nobody, I guess, when it comes to football. Why are we giving him (Arch) that benefit of the doubt compared to (Oklahoma quarterback) John Mateer?"

On one hand, I get the frustration. Arch hasn't proved much yet, but he's getting a lot of hype because of his last name.

But at the same time, calling Cooper Manning a "nobody" in football as a way to justify that take doesn't really make sense. Cooper was well on his way to becoming an SEC wide receiver at Ole Miss before spinal stenosis cruelly ended his football career. We have no idea how good Cooper would've been at Ole Miss or in the NFL. He may have had a Hall of Fame career.

I think the Manning thing with Arch has more to do with the way he's been brought up. Arch essentially had his masters degree in how to be a pro before he ever suited up in a Texas uniform -- thanks to his uncles and his grandfather (plus Cooper and Ellen, Arch's mom, too).

Texas and Oklahoma will face off in Dallas on October 11. I don't know if Arch is a fan of bulletin board material, but he received some of the personal variety this week courtesy of KREF, the flagship station of the Oklahoma Sooners.