ESPN is already trying to sabotage Texas Longhorns QB Arch Manning ahead of the 2025 season

Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning, a former five-star recruit, has been one of the most popular players in the sport the last two years despite his status as a backup.

With Manning set to take over as the Longhorns’ starting quarterback in 2025, his popularity is set to reach levels we haven’t seen since Tim Tebow was taking snaps in Gainesville for the Florida Gators.

Manning, however, is still a relatively inexperienced football player (he has a couple of spot starts under his belt due to filling in for an injured Quinn Ewers last season). The 2025 season will be Manning’s first season as the “the guy”. Texas is now his team. And he’s inevitably going to go through some ups-and-downs as he continues his development.

That’s why a statement about Manning from ESPN’s Bill Connelly this week feels a bit unfair. In fact, it feels like sabotage.

Connelly took a look at each team’s returning production in 2025 (an exercise that feels futile due to the extreme roster turnover that we see around the sport thanks to the transfer portal) and he suggested that Texas, due to the talent the Longhorns are losing, could have some “ups and downs” in 2025 if Manning doesn’t play “otherworldly”.

“If Manning is anything less than otherworldly, Texas could have some ups and downs,” wrote Connelly.

From ESPN: If you aren’t leaning toward ranking Ohio State No. 1 to start the year, you’re probably looking at Texas instead. Considering the Longhorns are officially handing the reins to quarterback Arch Manning — and giving him a loaded RB stable and the best linebacking corps in the country — it makes sense. But SP+ isn’t automatically giving the Horns the benefit of the doubt. They were only seventh in SP+ last season and must replace quarterback Quinn Ewers, four of his top six targets, the top four offensive and defensive linemen and dynamite DBs Jahdae Barron and Andrew Mukuba. Steve Sarkisian recruits well and spruced up the defensive line with three transfers, but that’s still a lot. If Manning is anything less than otherworldly, Texas could have some ups and downs.

Look, I understand that Manning is facing high expectations in 2025 because of his recruiting ranking and his famous last name, but this is a bit much.

It’s harder than ever to be an elite quarterback thanks to the complex defenses that young quarterbacks are seeing (plus the elite athleticism on the other side of the ball). Manning looks like a future first round NFL draft pick, but that doesn’t mean he’s anywhere close to reaching his potential yet. Manning is going to make some mistakes as a first-time starter. And that’s not a bad thing — the New Orleans native will learn from those mistakes and become an even better player. It’s part of the development process and Manning shouldn’t be overly criticized if he throws a bad interception in an SEC game, or makes the wrong read on a key pass play. Whatever mistakes happen will be teaching moments for the uber-talented signal-caller.

But this idea that Manning has to play “otherworldly” for Texas to be good in 2025 is a ridiculous expectation to put on a young quarterback’s shoulders. Manning obviously wants to win as many games as possible at Texas. But he also wants to grow into the best version of himself. And despite the great things we’ve already seen from Manning, he still has a lot of growing left to do — especially if he wants to develop into an MVP-caliber player at the next level. That kind of growth happens by going through adversity, making mistakes, and being consistent in preparation, practice, and mindset.

Let’s just let Arch be Arch and see what happens. Grand expectations for young talented players are one of the worst things about this current era of college football.