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Greg McElroy Reveals His Hesitation on the Arch Manning Hype

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jaron Spor | Last updated Jun 2, 2025 2:00 PM ET

The Arch Manning era for the Texas Longhorns has officially begun, following the departure of Quinn Ewers, who entered the NFL draft after the 2024 season.

As a former five-star quarterback recruit and the No. 1 prospect in the 2023 class, Manning comes with high expectations. This anticipation stems not only from his impressive high school career but also from his family's legacy. He is the grandson of legendary college football quarterback Archie Manning and the nephew of NFL icons Peyton and Eli Manning.

Manning demonstrated his capabilities last season when he replaced Ewers in the first quarter against the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) Roadrunners after an injury. In that game and the next two games that he started, he threw for 806 yards, eight touchdowns and two interceptions, completing 69.4 percent of his passes. He added 82 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Despite these strong statistics, ESPN's Greg McElroy expressed some skepticism on his radio show, "McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning." He noted that he wants to see Manning face stronger opponents before fully endorsing the hype surrounding him. McElroy referred to Manning's brief appearance against the Georgia Bulldogs the first time they played. Manning struggled, going 3-for-6 for just 19 yards and fumbling the ball, which led to a late first-half score for Georgia.

"I love Arch Manning," McElroy said. "I think that Arch Manning's got a chance to be a great player. But until he goes out there and does it against Ohio State, I'm going to have questions because I saw what he did when he had to go in the game against Georgia. It did not go well for him."

McElroy discussed how Manning performed well against the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks, UTSA and Mississippi State Bulldogs. However, he noted that none of those teams had a strong defense; Mississippi State ranked 126th in the country in that regard.

McElroy is eager to see Manning maintain a high level of performance against top teams before fully endorsing the hype surrounding him. He believes Manning has the potential to do so, which is why he considers him one of the top 15 quarterbacks in college football for the upcoming season.

Nevertheless, McElroy pointed out that questions remain about Manning's abilities, given that he has yet to demonstrate his skills against elite competition. He will have the opportunity to prove himself when Texas opens the season against the Ohio State Buckeyes at noon ET on Aug. 30 on Fox.

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

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