Joel Klatt ranked Arch Manning No. 2 among 2026 college football quarterbacks, praising his second-half surge, rushing edge and Texas’ upgraded offense in 2026.
Arch Manning is officially back in the national spotlight, and Joel Klatt just poured gasoline on the Texas quarterback hype train.
On the Monday edition of The Joel Klatt Show, the Fox Sports college football analyst ranked his top 10 quarterbacks for the 2026 season, and Manning landed all the way at No. 2.
The only quarterback Klatt put ahead of him? Oregon’s Dante Moore.
That’s a monster statement considering the names behind Manning on the list.
Notre Dame’s CJ Carr, Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and Ohio State’s Julian Sayin all checked in below the Texas starter.
Klatt made it clear this wasn’t just a raw talent ranking. It was about who he’d want for this season.
“Here’s how I would draft them, list them, if I had to take ONE for this season. Granted, this is going to be a little bit determined about their experience level and what they have coming back on their own teams. How I would draft them AND my projection for the type of season they would have.”
For Manning, the case starts with how he finished 2025. The early part of the season wasn’t always pretty for Texas, and Klatt didn’t pretend otherwise.
“I loved what I saw from Arch in the second half of the year,” Klatt said.
But he also pointed directly at the problems that made Manning’s first full run as Texas’ main guy tougher than it needed to be.
“They did not run the football well enough, their offensive line wasn’t good enough… because of that, I thought that the pressure was on Arch,” Klatt said.
That’s where the 2026 Texas Longhorns roster becomes the interesting part of the argument.
Klatt singled out Cam Coleman as a potential game-changer at wide receiver.
“I think Cam Coleman might have a monster year for Texas, he is a phenomenal player. When he was coming out, he and Jeremiah Smith were right there in recruiting,” Klatt said.
Texas also rebuilt pieces around Manning, including the running back room with Raleek Brown and Hollywood Smothers, while adding tackle Melvin Siani up front.
The Longhorns are trying to make sure Manning doesn’t have to carry the offense by himself.
The biggest separator, though, might be Manning’s legs.
“We know that he’s mobile. The reason that I have him above Julian Sayin, even though Sayin was more effective and more efficient last year, is that Arch does bring you that size and running ability, particularly when you need it,” Klatt said.
Manning rushed for more than 400 yards beyond Sayin’s total in 2025, including a 155-yard total offense performance with two touchdowns against Michigan.
That dual-threat ceiling is why the Manning conversation won’t calm down anytime soon.
Moore may have Klatt’s top spot because of his accuracy and playoff experience, but Manning at No. 2 says plenty. Texas has the quarterback, the weapons and the national buzz.
Now comes the hard part: proving the hype is real.
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