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Urban Meyer Gives Surprising Assessment of Arch Manning

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Hugh Green | Last updated Aug 27, 2025 10:14 PM ET

The Texas Longhorns are widely regarded as the best team in the country and national championship favorites heading into the 2025 college football season. Many of these high expectations center on the hype surrounding star redshirt sophomore quarterback Arch Manning.

The No. 1 recruit in the class of 2023, according to 247Sports, showed glimpses of his abilities last season as the backup to Quinn Ewers and is now the full-time starter at Texas. Due to his past success, Manning has been seen as a Heisman Trophy favorite this year.

Former Florida Gators and Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer gave a bold assessment of Manning on Wednesday.

"Arch Manning hasn't done a thing yet," Meyer said on "The Joel Klatt Show," per FOX Sports.

This assessment of Manning from Meyer comes as a surprise to many Texas fans, who see the quarterback as their ticket to a College Football Playoff appearance and a national title. The Longhorns are ranked No. 1 in the country in the preseason AP Top 25.

After redshirting his freshman season in 2023, Manning played 10 games with two starts last year for Texas. He completed 61 of his 90 passing attempts in those appearances for 939 yards and nine touchdowns with two interceptions. He also ran for over 100 yards and four scores.

"I’m hearing the word Heisman," Meyer continued. "I’m hearing the words national champion and first pick overall. I went back and watched [him] recently. He’s a good player. He's a really good player. But get a couple of first downs."

Manning will be in the spotlight right away this season, as Texas faces off with No. 3 Ohio State in Week 1 on Saturday. If he can lead the Longhorns to a top-5 victory to begin the year against the defending national champions, the hype train around Manning will add that many more riders.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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