So far, it is hard to take exception to the choices that Arch Manning has made during his college football career. He carved out his own path, passing up on programs close to his family like Ole Miss and Tennessee to commit to Texas. Once there, he's waited his turn with Quinn Ewers entrenched as the Longhorns starter, largely eschewing the spotlight as much as possible. When his number has been called, he's played well, going 2–0 as starter in 2024.
Even so, there will always be some fans who root against Manning given his famous last name. ESPN's Rece Davis, host of College GameDay, thinks things will get even more extreme when he becomes the full-time starter for Texas in 2025.
During the latest episode of the College GameDay Podcast, Davis argued that the Manning family's youngest gunslinger is set to become the "ultimate villain" of the sport.
“Here's what I think is going to happen with Arch, and it's unfortunate. Because of the attention he’s going to get, he’s going to become a fan favorite by those outside of Texas. And [for] others outside of Texas, he’s going to become the ultimate villain," said Davis. "And I don’t just mean Oklahoma people. Because it's like the analogy that I use, if you start hyping up a restaurant or a movie or TV show, that when you keep saying how great it is and how exciting it is, and you cannot miss this, it is the cynical human nature of many to start rooting against it. That's going to happen with Arch.
“Those who are not predisposed to like him, whether they are a Texas fan or they like the Mannings or they like 'ManningCast' or whatever, or they just feel like it’s too much too soon, they’re going to root against him. . . . Everything's going to be amplified."
Reporter Pete Thamel recently visited Texas practice, noting that based on his conversations with coach Steve Sarkisian, Arch has "a little bit of swagger" this spring, which could add to some animosity among neutral and opposing fans, though it'd be a surprise to see Manning become the next Johnny Manizel in that regard. Plenty of other relatively quiet athletes in similar positions—see: Bronny James—catch plenty of heat, whether its warranted or not.
The Mannings are pretty broadly popular however (at least, outside of New England) and given Arch's decision to stick with one school, wait before pursuing NIL deals too aggressively and his general positive attitude, it would be fairly surprising to see a pile on this fall. Of course, Davis's network could lead that flood of hype and attention that he cited as a likely reason that Arch could become the sport's villain.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ESPN's Rece Davis Predicts Arch Manning Will Be College Football's 'Ultimate Villain'.
