In a recent video on his YouTube channel, Tom Brady reminisced about a memorable pass he threw to Gronk against the Steelers in 2016. The snap was called, and the rushers quickly crowded Brady, with a mere inch between him and the rushers. Brady made a split-second decision as he recalled and threw a 37-yard pass to Rob Gronkowski, which later resulted in a touchdown. Even Belichick was awe-struck and asked Brady, “How did you know that the safety won’t follow him? (Gronk)“. Brady simply replied, “I looked in his eyes and I knew“. Talk about excellence, Brady made all of these decisions in that split second. That’s how intense football is: a lapse of a second or two, and you are licking the grass. Arch Manning, this year, coming from the family of Brady’s career rival Payton Manning, has those hundreds of ‘split-second’ decisions to make this season. And if a former Texas coach is to be believed, it’s going to be brutal out there.

Arch Manning’s case is also interesting since, apart from being a 5-star and highly talented recruit, he also has that ‘Manning’ name on the back of his Jersey. And while that name can come with its perks, like the north of $6 million NIL value. That name could also be a massive burden when it comes to the increased scrutiny and hype created by the media. You ask any Texas fan right now, and young Arch Manning’s case will be akin to a prophecy being fulfilled: the one ‘who promised’ to deliver the national title. But with hype comes a mountain of pressure.

Les Koenning, the former Texas’ wide receivers coach, speaking on the 17th May episode of ‘On Texas Football’, looked to caution people on riding the hype bogey. While acknowledging Arch’s capabilities, Koenning delivered a harsh verdict when asked, “Do you feel like he has some of those intangibles you talked about based on what you’ve seen from him?”. The coach replied, “We’ll soon find out. I mean, I think you can’t put the cart before the horse…We can talk about it. We can hype it up. We can do everything we want to, but it’s going to come down to performance..” The statement presented an interesting scenario.

Ever heard of Schrodinger’s cat? Arch Manning’s hype has created a similar situation where he is both a world-class QB waiting to light up fields and a massive bust who didn’t live up to the ‘Manning’ name. The cat will only reveal itself now when Arch Manning takes the field and goes against Ohio State at Columbus in week 1. That being said, Koenning insisted not to jump to conclusions early and have patience with the young prodigy to do his magic.

“This will be his first year out there. Will there be mistakes? I’m sure there will be. And you know, quarterbacks learn from their mistakes. And the other thing a quarterback has to have is a short memory. I mean, he has to have one, that the next play is the best play. Let’s not worry about the past. And I think those are the things that we need to look at when he gets on the field.” Well, he will make mistakes like everyone does, mistakes even Tom Brady and Payton Manning did. But how he rises from them will make the difference. Moreover, it’s not that he doesn’t have the skill set to be successful.

Even before he arrived in Texas in 2023, the QB had a near-perfect 100 rating on ON3. Moreover, the guy was coming after producing 8,539 yards at a 64.5% efficiency in his high school, so the stat charts were all blue. Add to that, his leadership qualities are also top-notch, with even Steve Sarkisian singing his praise from time to time. “There’s an infectious leadership that he has, that I don’t want to say is unintentional, because he intentionally leads,” said Sarkisian. So, considering everything, young Arch has all the tools to be successful, including an incoming roster that is reportedly valued at $40 million. Now? He just needs to stand behind the center, making those split-second decisions without any worry and hoping for the best. However, there’s still one challenge, which will be humongous for the young lad.

Arch Manning gets concerning news regarding his fate against Ohio State?

Well, Texas’s schedule in 2025 looks tricky, to be fair. They have games against Florida (on the road), Oklahoma, Georgia (on the road), and Texas A&M with Mike Elko’s renewed roster. All these games look quite challenging, and Texas will have to be on its toes to win them all. However, they will have the most stern test of the season in Week 1, on August 30th at Columbus. The national champions will come with all guns blazing, and a loss could break the team’s morale even at the start of the season. Considering this, there may be concerns for Arch Manning, too.

J.D. Pickell of On3 urged Arch Manning to find his rhythm quickly to overcome the Ryan Day challenge, but he had some harsh scenarios in his bag. “If Arch Manning goes out there against Ohio State and has a stat line like that, where let’s call it one touchdown, one pick, I mean a buck 95, everyone’s going to jump on it and say, “Was Arch overrated? Are we sure Arch Manning is the guy? Are we sure this stat is he overhyped?”

While Arch Manning is undoubtedly a talented player, players like Caleb Downs, Caden Curry, and Sonny Styles will give him a very hard time. Moreover, considering Arch Manning would be taking the field first time as a starter, and all these players are seniors and have immense experience, it won’t be an easy task to perform against Ohio State. Still, will underperformance against Ohio State prove his critics right who suggest him being a ‘bust’? No! Even J.D. PicKell urged fans and predicted Manning to find his “juice” at least by the end of November, as the team prepares for the playoffs.