'Great Kid!' LSU's Lane Kiffin Speaks Highly of Texas QB Arch Manning After Recruiting Relationship

Lane Kiffin was right to think his Ole Miss Rebels were in the running to land coveted 5-star quarterback recruit Arch Manning, whose legendary grandfather and uncle both starred in Oxford.

Instead, Manning chose the Texas Longhorns ahead of the 2023 season. After sitting through two seasons on the bench, Manning now prepares to face Kiffin, who is in his debut season coaching at LSU, with conference and CFP positioning at stake.

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Kiffin still speaks highly of the quarterback he'll be game-planning to stop this Saturday at 6:30 p.m. in Death Valley.

"I really enjoyed the time around Arch. Great kid. I think that's probably well documented," Kiffin said about recruiting Manning, someone with national fame before his college career began.

"That's a lot to deal with, even when he was in high school, the expectations and pressure and everything around him."

Though there have been rocky moments, Manning's last handful of games have featured the elite skillset that came with those lofty expectations. This week's SEC Offensive Player of the Week has been named a finalist for the Davey O'Brien Award and the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award.

With his success comes an on-field swagger that is unique to Arch in comparison to his uncles, Peyton and Eli. Kiffin recognized that as a leadership component to Manning's profile in high school.

"I got to see him play one time the night before one of our games and got to see him just have fun with his teammates and how much the linemen on his team loved him in high school," Kiffin recalled. "Then, when he'd come visit, you kind of saw more of the pressure side of what he dealt with."

Manning has managed the pressure well enough to keep the Longhorns in contention for its first CFP with him as Quinn Ewers' successor. Texas sits No. 6 in the latest CFP committee rankings, one spot higher than the week prior after beating Missouri in a ranked road game.

On the season, Manning co-leads the SEC with 18 touchdown passes, which is one more than Tigers starter Sam Leavitt. However, Leavitt leads the pack with a conference-most 283 passing yards per game.

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"I think he's an awesome kid, and I hope he does really well," Kiffin said of Manning.

"Obviously outside of Saturday."