Alabama football fans are all-in on landing 5-Star, quarterback recruit, Arch Manning. Even those that know he is the son of Cooper Manning, rather than the offspring of Peyton or Eli Manning. In fact, with some older Crimson Tide fans, ingrained with ill will toward Peyton going back to his Tennessee Vols’ career, Arch being the son of the ‘other’ man is more palatable.
How good is Arch? According to the 247Sports recruiting gurus, Arch is the No. 1 player in the 2023 class. Nick Saban is recruiting other quarterbacks as well, including California, 5-Star, Nicholaus Iamaleava. According to 247Sports, Iamaleava is the No. 3 QB in the class and the No. 4 player overall.
Arch lives in New Orleans, but LSU is not a factor in the national chase for his signature. As FanSided’s John Buhler explained recently, the young Manning has also dropped Clemson, Ohio State, Florida, and the other, many schools who gave him offers, from his list of finalists.
The remaining four are Alabama, Georgia, Texas and Ole Miss. Like LSU, Peyton’s Tennessee was never seriously in contention.
Just like Crimson Tide fans, Nick Saban would love to land Arch Manning. But Saban will not alter his recruiting style for anyone, not even the grandson of Archie or the nephew of Peyton and Eli. Just as Saban told Julio Jones years ago, the Crimson Tide will win “with or without” Arch Manning.
Reasons Alabama Football will not land Arch Manning
There are two strong reasons why Arch Manning will not end up in Tuscaloosa. One is Saban’s attitude referenced above excludes him from offering any recruit, any guarantee, beyond the opportunity to compete for playing time. Most other coaches (including at least one from the group of four final teams) have no such reservation. Arch will probably be told he is guaranteed to start by Kirby Smart, Lane Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian.
Sarkisian has made a smart move to offer the Mannings a sweetener. Hook’Em Headlines reported on Monday that Texas is very close to hiring former Duke Head Coach David Cutcliffe. Cutcliffe coached both Peyton and Eli in college. No college coach is closer to the family than the highly respected Cutcliffe.
Cutcliffe’s role in Austin will apparently be as an offensive analyst. For those who don’t remember the history, Cutcliffe was one of Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant’s boys. He was not good enough to play college ball, but as a member of the Tide football staff, he learned how to coach football in Tuscaloosa.
Despite these two reasons why Arch Manning will not choose Alabama, the Crimson Tide might land him anyway. Maybe there is a Julio-like response in the Manning family that does not want Arch guaranteed anything. In addition, the wealthy Manning family does not have to base a decision on the largest NIL deal. Which could be one reason why Texas A&M is not one of the finalists.
How would Peyton handle his nephew wearing Crimson? A guess is when the Tide plays the Vols, Peyton would be in ‘puke-orange.’