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Tennessee football: Five reasons Vol fans can stomach Arch Manning to Texas

By Caleb Calhoun

Quarterback Arch Manning (16) throws a pass as Newman takes on Lafayette Christian Academy in the LHSAA Division III semifinals on Nov. 24, 2021.Arch Manning
Quarterback Arch Manning (16) throws a pass as Newman takes on Lafayette Christian Academy in the LHSAA Division III semifinals on Nov. 24, 2021.Arch Manning /
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April 23, 2022; Austin, TX, USA; Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian talks to fans before Texas’s annual spring football game at Royal Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas on April 23, 2022. Mandatory Credit: Aaron E. Martinez-USA TODAY NETWORK
April 23, 2022; Austin, TX, USA; Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian talks to fans before Texas’s annual spring football game at Royal Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas on April 23, 2022. Mandatory Credit: Aaron E. Martinez-USA TODAY NETWORK /

3. The Vols won’t have to play Arch Manning every year.

As of right now, 2025 is the latest Texas will join the SEC. At his youngest, Arch Manning would be a redshirt sophomore then, and he could end up being a junior. Either way, he’ll be eligible to leave after that season for the 2026 NFL Draft, and while Peyton and Eli Manning stayed until their senior seasons, Arch may be built different.

Anyway, the format of the SEC is wide open for when Texas and the Oklahoma Sooners join the league, but there is absolutely no scenario in which Texas would be an annual opponent for Tennessee football. If you do the pod system, the Vols will only play them twice in four years, and if you stick with divisions, Texas will clearly be in the West and not the Vols’ interdivisional rival.

Taking that into account, UT would play Manning twice at most, and that would only happen if Texas joined the league in 2023 or they joined the league in 2024 but Manning decided to stay for years. There’s actually a good chance the Vols never play him if they join in 2025.

What if the Vols don’t play Texas until 2026 and Manning decides to leave for the pros that year? Simply put, for as great of a prospect as Manning is, and as dangerous as combining him with Steve Sarkisian will be, Rocky Top doesn’t seem like it’ll have to deal with him all that much.

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