Arch Manning’s decision to go to Texas was ‘Austin Weird’
There’s a horrible expression in Austin that goes “Keep Austin Weird”. In the 70s, it worked. Austin was a practical cow-town, where the University was about the biggest thing there, and everything else was LSD and horrible music.
Now – thanks to the influx of half of California and a business-friendly environment (read: No taxes on businesses! And we’re happy to let you screw up the environment while you’re at it!), Austin is one of – if not THE – fastest-growing (and trendiest) cities in America. Now, ‘Keep Austin weird’ is basically an absolute joke. d
But despite the overload of ‘Western Liberals’ (their words, certainly not mine), the Texas Longhorns (and their plight) is still one of the biggest talking-points in the town, and don’t sniff at the revenue that hotels, bars and restaurants make when the Burnt Orange are in town.
And if you don’t think the Texas-love at the moment wasn’t vomitous enough with the load of transfers that have come in for the 2022 season – including the arrival of former five-star QB Quinn Ewers from Ohio State, things have just gotten worse with the 2023 commitment of one Arch Manning, who’s meant to be A FUTURE HALL OF FAMER AND THE BEST COLLEGE QUARTERBACK WHO EVER LIVED. Age 17.
Although the Mannings have talked about wonderful Austin was a fit, let’s think through this.
Why Texas? If Ewers is successful, then Manning would have to sit on his ass for a year and watch Sarkasian’s offense. Maybe two if Ewers wants to stay. Both his uncles – Eli and Peyton – started as freshmen and he was widely expected to do the same.
Texas also has a massive problem that many people don’t seem to talk about but was hugely evident last season – their offensive lines tend to suck. Hopefully the addition of 22 players Devon Campbell, Kelvin Banks and Neto Umeolozu will mean things are more shored up for Manning should he start in 2023, because if they aren’t, he’s going to end up like the Jeep in Jurassic Park.
WHY NOT GEORGIA?
We know Georgia recruited Manning like their lives depended on it. I’m sure that Kirby called Arch like Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction, minus the boiled bunny. But if the Manning Clan truly looked at Georgia’s offense, then they’d understand why he wouldn’t have wanted to go. Georgia is a run-first offense that will grind you into the ground, with a bunch of solid-but-not-out-of-this-world wide receivers.
And the biggest pull for Manning had to be Austin. Bright lights, tons of people…..and NIL money like you’d never believe, thanks to the deep pockets of the batshit-crazy Texas boosters. Rich people like to get richer, after all. Austin would give Arch far-better ‘exposure’ than a move to Georgia – especially if he was the leader that took the Longhorns to The Promised Land (the SEC), as well as the ‘cool brand thing’ , that the kids like these days.
BUT WHY NOT THE ALTERNATIVES?
Listen, we know that the ‘Manning Legacy’ might not have been something he wanted to be part of, but why on Earth wasn’t Ole Miss a massive factor? In fact, he probably wanted to get the f**k away from it. There’s only so many Grove trips a boy can do, after all. But if you consider that Lane Kiffin – who’s seen by many – if not all – as the best quarterbacks coach in the country, commanding respect on that level from the NFL down to high school – is head coach there, and that it would hardly be a gauntlet to be a freshman starter in, then wouldn’t Ole Miss have been the more logical choice?
Then there’s LSU, which also doesn’t have a bunch of world-beating quarterbacks, but has stunning athleticism at receiver level. He’s a Louisiana local, and LSU would have been another place where he would have been surrounded by the sort of talent that most people dream of.
But anyway, Manning’s going to Austin……if he doesn’t de-commit. If Sarkasian has a poor 2022, then he might well do.