What’s more impressive: stepping in as a freshman at one of the SEC’s premier wide receiver factories or earning praise from a three-time Pro Bowler? After just three days of spring practice, Arch Manning’s new freshman target, Jermaine Bishop, has managed to pull off both. He caught the eye of Dez Bryant for his crisp route-running.

The legendary Dez Bryant is officially on the five-star’s hype train, and for good reason. After watching some spring practice footage and analyzing his attention to detail on a perfectly crisp go-route, Dez went to social media to point out just how different this kid is.

“Most people would look at this clip and say it’s just routes on air. A lot of young wide receivers would just half a** during this period… His attention to detail is beyond his years..he released… stayed tight… and stacked on an air defender! Practicing the stuff that’s going to show up in the game. I can tell he’s very confident and never too cool to get better. Longhorns got 1 of them 1s.”

While most freshmen might just go through the motions during “routes on air” (which is just practicing plays without a defense), Dez noticed that Bishop treats every single rep with good old grace.

If you haven’t heard the name yet, Bishop was the No. 1-ranked ‘athlete’ in the entire country for the 2026 class. At Willis High in Texas, he was racking up numbers on both sides of the football. He even broke Houston-area records with nearly 5,000 scrimmage yards and 55 touchdowns. He also won Mr. Football Texas by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football after racking up 1,940 yards on about 120 catches in his senior year last season.

Despite being labeled an “athlete” who could play cornerback or safety, Bishop began spring practice as a full-time wide receiver (wearing No. 4) and immediately looked like a Day 1 starter. However, Dez shockingly claimed him to be the WR1 of the Longhorns.

“I want to go on record and say Jermaine Bishop will be Texas Longhorns’ #1 WR,” Bryant said on X. “The eye test doesn’t lie. He’s oozing with confidence..I can tell by the way he carries himself. He already runs routes like a pro. Legit playmaker. I’m looking forward to watching him perform this year.”

Calling him the WR1? That’s a stretch when you have two wide receivers who are arguably among the top four in the country in Cam Coleman (1,306 yards and 13 touchdowns in two seasons) and Ryan Wingo (834 yards and seven touchdowns in 2025).

Then again, this is the United States, and freedom of speech exists when it comes to sports. People are entitled to their opinions. When you make a statement like that, especially from someone like Dez Bryant, people will obviously raise an eyebrow when he’s put in the same sentence as someone as proven as Coleman.

Instead of explaining why Bishop might be better than the likes of Coleman or even Wingo, Bryant doubled down even further: “I’m going to stretch it further.. Texas hasn’t had a playmaker like him since Vince Young!” Bryant tweeted unapologetically.

That’s even more ballistic than his first comment. It almost sounds like an insult to Texas legends like Colt McCoy, Jordan Shipley, Xavier Worthy, and Bijan Robinson. Before long, social media started coming hot on Dez Bryant for what many felt was disrespect, even bringing up his infamous 2014 NFC Divisional Playoff “no-catch” into this.

Just before things could spiral further, Bryant came forward with an explanation.

Dez Bryant backs Jermaine Bishop–Vince Young comparison after backlash

“It’s no knock on any of the Longhorn legends…” Bryant wrote. “The next generation of sports is supposed to be better than the current generation. I evaluate with no bias attached. No matter what the occupation is..if you’re a person who pays attention..you know who the ones that separate themselves from the pack…”

Well, for what it’s worth, we might have to take the word of one of the best wide receivers of the 2010s for now. It shouldn’t take long to find out whether Bishop’s actually cut from the same material as someone like Cam Coleman, let alone Vince Young. However, when you look at it from a broader perspective, or through the lens of Texas Longhorns fans, it’s a win-win situation at the end of the day for the receivers’ room.

And nobody’s grinning harder than Arch Manning now. If whatever claim Dez Bryant made turns out to be remotely true, then Manning will have three WR1s to throw the football to all day long. No wonder Arch Manning is already a favorite for the Heisman. Not only that, some analysts believe Manning could break Colt McCoy’s single-season school record of 34 passing touchdowns, especially with a deep playoff run, and hopefully end the two-decade-long awaited natty.