On Facebook
On Flipboard
On Twitter
The Arch Manning hype train just got a major push from one of the NFL draft world’s most respected voices.
On Monday, Todd McShay delivered a strong early verdict on the Texas Longhorns quarterback, calling him his early No. 1 overall prospect for the 2026 NFL draft. And he didn’t hold back.
“I’m not going to bury the lede," McShay said. "Based on Arch Manning’s 2024 tape — and assuming he continues developing at the pace he has to this point — I wouldn’t hesitate to make him my early no 1 prospect in the 2026 draft class. He is that gifted and has shown immense potential in the limited playing time he’s had through his first two seasons at Texas.”
Manning saw action in 10 games last season, making two starts and completing nearly 68 percent of his passes for 939 yards, nine touchdowns and just two interceptions. He added 108 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.
Despite backing up Quinn Ewers for most of the year, Manning left a strong impression — showcasing the accuracy, poise and deep-ball touch that made him the nation’s top recruit coming out of high school.
Now, heading into the 2025 season, the keys to the Longhorns’ offense officially belong to Manning.
With Texas opening the year at Ohio State on Aug. 30 in a high-stakes showdown, all eyes will be on the sophomore signal-caller to deliver under pressure.
McShay’s assessment underscores the belief that Manning has both the pedigree and polish to become a franchise-changing NFL quarterback.
If he continues on his current trajectory, expect his draft stock to continue to rise.
More must-reads:
- Comparing Arch Manning's first five starts to famous family members: Growing pains or bigger concerns?
- Scout identifies key issue behind Arch Manning's underwhelming start
- The 'FBS animal teams' quiz
Breaking News
Trending News
TODAY'S BEST
Comparing Arch Manning's first five starts to famous family members: Growing pains or bigger concerns?
Five intriguing head coach candidates for UCLA
After a disastrous 0-3 start to the 2025 season, the UCLA Bruins fired head coach DeShaun Foster. He compiled a 5-10 overall record in his tenure at UCLA. On3's Pete Nakos reported on Wednesday that three big names will help in finding the Bruins' next head coach. They are UCLA booster Casey Wasserman, who is organizing the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, former Bruins star quarterback Troy Aikman and former UCLA defensive end Adam Peters, who is the general manager of the NFL's Washington Commanders. Reports have indicated that UCLA leaders are likely to first look for a new head coach who has prior head coaching experience. However, due to potential buyouts, it's entirely possible that Bruins officials will consider attractive coordinators as candidates, too. Here are five intriguing names for the UCLA head coaching search. Ed Orgeron The former LSU head coach has said that he would like to return to coaching, and he has recruiting ties to the greater Los Angeles area. Orgeron was a long-time assistant coach at cross-town Southern California, and he served as the Trojans' interim head coach in 2013. Jedd Fisch Fisch is currently the head coach at Washington, which is now in the Big Ten Conference, along with UCLA. He was previously the Bruins' offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, and Fisch also served as the program's interim head coach in 2017. Similar to Orgeron, Fisch has good recruiting connections in L.A. Tony White For the 2025 season, White moved from being the defensive coordinator at Nebraska to the same role at Florida State. The Seminoles had an impressive Week 1 win against Alabama and could contend for this year's Atlantic Coast Conference crown. White played at UCLA and has extensive California roots. He was a graduate assistant for one season in 2007 with the Bruins and also served as an assistant coach at San Diego State from 2009-17. Pat Fitzgerald The former head coach at Northwestern is available and wants to get back into coaching. His former legal battle with the Wildcats program has been resolved, and if UCLA wanted to go in this direction, there would be no buyout. In his 17 seasons at Northwestern, Fitzgerald went 110–101 overall and claimed five bowl victories. Eric Bieniemy Similar to White, Bieniemy doesn't have college head coaching experience. He is currently the running backs coach with the Chicago Bears. In 2024, Bieniemy was an assistant head coach and offensive coordinator at UCLA, which went a sub-par 5–7 last year.
Cleveland Browns may be without a Pro Bowler against the Packers, and Green Bay suffers legit scare on Thursday
The Cleveland Browns have their attention on the Green Bay Packers with their first NFC opponent coming to town in Week 3. Cleveland opened the season with two AFC North losses against the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens and will now look to get right against perhaps the league’s best team. Green Bay has had the best defense this season through two games the league has and they bring a good quarterback with Jordan Love. Cleveland looks like they’ll get RT Jack Conklin back this week against the Packers, while DT Mike Hall did not participate on Thursday as part of his plan returning from the knee injury. It could be another week before the former second-round pick is out there. Joel Bitonio has not practiced yet this week with a back injury and tomorrow will tell whether or not he will be able to play against the Packers. Returner DeAndre Carter returned to practice for the Browns on Thursday from concussion protocol. The Packers suffer scare with one of their offensive stars Tucker Kraft is one of the league's more underrated tight ends and he suffered a knee tweak at practice on Thursday that was a scare, but he is expected to be fine. The star tight end had 124 yards and a touchdown against the Washington Commanders last week and will be a major weapon that the Packers and Love will look to target. Cleveland’s defense is allowing 146 passing yards per game through two games, which is third in the NFL. The Browns' offense will have to give the defense a chance to stay in this one at home. If Cleveland doesn’t have Bitonio against the Packers, they’ll be turning to backup offensive lineman Tevin Jenkins. Cleveland’s defensive front has been maybe the best in the NFL through the first two games, so they’ll only benefit when they put Hall’s interior rushing ability into the mix. It just may be too early for that to happen in Week 3 against Green Bay. window.addEventListener('message', function (event) {if (event.data.totalpoll event.data.totalpoll.action === 'resizeHeight') {document.querySelector('#totalpoll-iframe-424').height = event.data.totalpoll.value;}}, false);document.querySelector('#totalpoll-iframe-424').contentWindow.postMessage({totalpoll: {action: 'requestHeight'}}, '*');
Maple Leafs have strong reason to believe they can sign Connor McDavid
Connor McDavid has still not extended his contract with the Edmonton Oilers as he enters his eighth and final year of his current agreement. McDavid, 28, will be an unrestricted free agent (UFA) in 2026 if he does not reach an agreement with the Oilers, and according to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, the Toronto Maple Leafs are wondering "what’s happening" with the Canadian center. “Just like 15 other teams around the NHL, until Connor makes his decision, there are teams that are gonna want to know, ‘Do we have to keep our powder dry for the summer of 2026?’ The Leafs are among them,” said LeBrun. In fact, there is a strong reason to believe that Toronto could sign McDavid, and it is that the Oilers player has recently made statements that could be an important clue about what the future holds for him. The center's words, curiously, are very similar to what Mitch Marner used to say at the time, before moving to the Leafs from the Vegas Golden Knights. Is McDavid's speech a farewell from Edmonton? In September 2024, Marner seemed committed to Toronto, without giving many details about his true intention. “It’s another year of wanting to be the best you can be and help this team win hockey games,” he said then, via the NHL official website. "That’s where my mind is, it’s not thinking of a contract year, and you have to be doing this and that. It’s just another hockey year where you want to be the best you can be to help this team win hockey games and get to the ultimate goal," added Marner. For his part, McDavid's speech goes practically along the same lines. "I’ll take my time and go through everything. I have every intention of winning in Edmonton. It’s my only focus," he said at the end of August of this year, via Sportsnet. "I want the group to be as focused and dialed in and ready to roll from Day 1 as much as possible, and we don’t need any distractions," added McDavid. Unfortunately for the 28-year-old Canadian, his contractual situation has already become a big distraction. History tells us that it is more than likely that in 2026, the center will be defending another jersey.
Tigers Skipper Reveals 'Very Concerning' Initial Injury Update On Colt Keith
Things are not looking great for the Detroit Tigers right now in more ways than one. They are struggling on the field by dropping seven of their last 10 that includes a sweep against their division rival Cleveland Guardians. Their once comfortable AL Central lead is now down to 3.5 games, which is nerve-wracking based on what else occurred on Thursday. As if this sweep wasn't enough, the Tigers delivered some brutal news when it comes to Colt Keith. He was pulled from the matchup with what was described as back tightness, and based on what manager A.J. Hinch said after the game, it doesn't sound good. "He was coming off and all he was saying to me was, 'I got to come out of the game. I got to come out of the game,'" Hinch said via Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic. "It's very concerning this time of year, especially when he was that passionate about something going on in his back/side/rib region." By the sounds of it, things appear as if Keith's season is in jeopardy with just nine games remaining before the playoffs get underway. The 24-year-old had slashed .254/.332/.409 with 13 home runs and 44 RBI through 136 games going into Thursday, showing some real flashes of brilliance at times. If he is indeed out, the Tigers have a couple of options, but none of them are ideal. Back To Platooning Zach McKinstry and Andy Ibáñez Detroit went into the season with a major question mark at the hot corner. Their inability to sign Alex Bregman in free agency and then the injury suffered by utility man Matt Vierling has been a major reason why there's been a revolving door at third base. Because of that, outside of Keith, Zach McKinstry and Andy Ibáñez are the only two players with over 100 plate appearances at that position. The Tigers will likely now have to back to platooning with those two players, which is far from ideal. The pair has been prone to extreme streakiness, but this strategy is probably still the safest and most likely option. Jace Jung Jung was supposed to be the heir apparent to the position after Detroit missed out on Bregman, but he did not seize his opportunity. He was largely dreadful when he did get the chance to play, which forced the Tigers to send him back to Triple-A Toledo. He has had a solid season in Triple-A, though, slashing .252/.370/.447 with 17 home runs and 74 RBI in 110 games played. But in 18 games for Detroit, his OPS was right around the .350 mark and he simply could not get going. Jung has struggled in his limited big league opportunities, but the Tigers may not have much other choice than to give him another shot with Keith picking up this injury. Kevin McGonigle Admittedly, this one is a complete long shot. The Tigers have said repeatedly that McGonigle is not getting called up this year, so asking him to make his debut in the midst of a tight divisional race before the playoffs get underway is unlikely. Desperate times call for desperate measures, though, and the fanbase is going to clamor for their top prospect to be called up in order to save the day. No matter who the replacement winds up being, the fact that Keith is going to miss some time could be the final blow to a team who has fought through tons of adversity this year but may just be running out of steam at the worst possible point. The next move is to wait and see on just how significant the injury is for Keith, but if it's serious, it would likely spell the end of his season. More Tigers News
Customize Your Newsletter
+
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!
PRIVACY POLICY EDITORIAL POLICY CONTACT US
ABOUT YARDBARKER TERMS OF SERVICE
Use of this website (including any and all parts and
components) constitutes your acceptance of these
Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
This site is for entertainment purposes only.
There is no gambling offered on this site.
Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-Gambler.
