The Texas Longhorns came into the 2025 college football season expected to be a top-tier national championship contender. So far to begin the year, Arch Manning and company have gotten off to a slow start.
Manning, who received a ton of preseason hype as a high-level Heisman Trophy candidate and a potential No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, has not played up to the hype quite yet. It’s still early in his career as a starting college quarterback, but the early results have not been nearly as good as expected.
No one can take too much from his first four games as the starter for Texas. There is no need to overreact. However, there are some concerns starting to rise about him.
Read more: Clemson Named Possible Nick Saban Suitor Amid Dabo Swinney Struggles
Looking ahead to the rest of the season and Manning’s future, his stock has started taking a hit due to his slow start to the season.
The Athletic’s Nick Baumgardner has published a new mock draft that shows how far Manning has dropped. In fact, he doesn’t have the Longhorns’ quarterback getting drafted until No. 28 overall in the first round.
Where does he have Manning landing at No. 28? He projects the Indianapolis Colts to land the young quarterback. Interestingly, Manning’s uncle, Peyton Manning, is arguably the best player in Colts’ franchise history.
“How’s this for a good time? Manning has not had the start scouts were looking for, so it begs the question: Is the player we’ve seen over the season’s first month a glimpse at what Manning will ultimately become?” Baumgardner wrote. “But he’s only been a starter for a month, under some of the brightest lights anyone can imagine. His arm talent is still elite, and though he probably needs another season at Texas, he’s going to be on every QB-needy team’s radar until he officially says he’s heading back to Austin for 2026.”
Landing with Indianapolis would not be the worst thing in the world for Manning. The Colts have seen Daniel Jones revitalize his career this season and could look to re-sign him after the year is over. That could give Manning a couple of years to learn from the sideline before being forced into game action.
Read more: Vanderbilt QB Just Gave Alabama Bulletin Board Material
Also, being able to land with a fan base who would badly want him to succeed and who has a lot of love for his family already could be an ideal situation for the young Manning.
It will be interesting to see if Manning can pick up his level of play throughout the rest of the 2025 season for Texas. Should he be able to do so, his stock could rise again. On the other hand, if his stock is being a late first-round pick, it seems much more likely that Manning would return for another year with the Longhorns.
For more on the Texas Longhorns and all things college football, head to Newsweek Sports.
