Texas' Arch Manning reminds national championship-winning coach of No. 1 NFL Draft pick

Expectations were already high enough for Arch Manning. Now, a national championship-winning coach is upping the ante for the Texas Longhorns quarterback. 

On a Monday episode of Barstool Sports' "Pardon My Take," former LSU Tigers head coach Ed Orgeron compared the 21-year-old QB to a perennial NFL MVP candidate. 

"I had an opportunity to go to Texas and speak at their clinic," Orgeron said. "And I watched practice. Now, we knew Arch as a young kid from Louisiana. He liked former [LSU passing game coordinator] Joe Brady. We watched him [as a recruit]. But I watched his practice. And I'll say this conservatively — and we recruited [LSU QB] Garrett [Nussmeier]. Garrett is a great player, but Arch is as close to, or maybe as good as Joe [Burrow] as I've seen. And I've never said that about anybody." 

Orgeron knows the Cincinnati Bengals QB well. Burrow — the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft — played for the coach at LSU from 2018-19. 

Still, Manning may not reach the same heights that Burrow did during his college career. It's nearly impossible for any QB to do that, even a former five-star recruit, like the Texas star.

In 15 games in 2019, Burrow threw for the second-most passing touchdowns (60) in a season in college football history, winning the Heisman Trophy. He also led the Tigers to their fourth national championship. 

It would be unrealistic to expect Manning to throw the same number of TDs that Burrow did in 2019. In his first two seasons with the Longhorns, he sat behind Quinn Ewers (now with the Miami Dolphins), attempting just 95 passes. 

Manning, however, is in a position to win a title in his first season as a starter. Coming off consecutive College Football Playoff semifinal appearances, the Longhorns are ranked No. 1 in the country entering the season.

The Texas QB will certainly appreciate the comparison to Burrow. At the Manning Passing Academy in June, he said the Bengals star and Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen are his favorite passers. The Longhorns hope he plays like them in their season opener against the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes on Aug. 30 at noon ET (Fox).