One recruiting outlet has Tennessee football Volunteers target Arch Manning as the top quarterback.
What are the chances Tennessee football lures another Manning away from his roots? Phillip Fulmer landing Peyton Manning back in 1994 instead of the Ole Miss Rebels remains the greatest recruiting heist in college football history.
Manning’s nephew, however, presents UT with the chance at an even greater heist. Arch Manning, son of Manning’s older brother Cooper Manning, was the top-rated quarterback in the 247Sports first rankings of 2023 prospects, revealed on Wednesday. At 6’3″ 195 pounds, the Isidore Newman quarterback in New Orleans, La. is the No. 5 ranked overall prospect.
Obviously, Peyton Manning is the only Manning of the first two generations of athletes to not end up at Ole Miss. Archie, Cooper and Eli Manning all went there, even though Cooper, who would have played wide receiver, had to cut short his career due to spinal stenosis.
However, a third generation of Mannings could be a completely different story. Back in June, Cooper Manning revealed in an interview with ESPN Radio on 104.5 that Tennessee football and Ole Miss are among the top five schools for his son along with the LSU Tigers, Duke Blue Devils and Georgia Bulldogs.
Four of these five make sense. Manning has an obvious connection to Ole Miss and UT. He also has a connection to Duke, though, given the family’s respect for David Cutcliffe and the fact that he developed both Eli and Peyton Manning. LSU also makes sense given the fact that he’s playing in Louisiana. When Peyton and Eli were in high school, that program was nearly irrelevant.
Georgia, however, is unique all on its own. Arch Manning could definitely start his own legacy there, and the Dawgs have been securing highly touted quarterbacks ever since Kirby Smart took over. But what’s clear is nobody knows where he’ll end up yet.
Arch could be the best of the group since he combines Cooper’s and Archie’s athleticism wiht Peyton’s and Eli’s passing abilities. This is why Tennessee football has already offered him, along with a host of other SEC schools. Could Jeremy Pruitt do what Fulmer did? If so, he could produce an even greater legend on Rocky Top.