Rising star Arch Manning lands 4th in Power 4 QB rankings. His late-season surge and Texas' revamped offense set the stage for a potential Heisman run.
Texas quarterback Arch Manning didn't quite live up to last year's pre-season hype, but his performances to finish the season have given fans and analysts reason to believe he'll be one of the top QBs in the nation next season.
In ESPN's latest Pre-spring QB rankings, Manning was ranked as the fourth-best signal caller in the Power 4 conferences (out of 68).
The only QBs ranked ahead of him are CJ Carr of Notre Dame, Julian Sayin of Ohio State, and Trinidad Chambliss of Ole Miss.
Despite having a fairly slow start to the season, Manning still finished with a respectable stat line of 3,163 passing yards, 26 touchdown passes and only seven interceptions.
He also showcased his rushing talent last season, recording 537 non-sack rushing yards and 10 rushing TDs.
Manning was arguably the best QB in college football in the latter stages of the season, posting the best quarterback rating in the country after October.
Some of his standout performances included 389 passing yards and 6 total TDs against Arkansas, and his Citrus Bowl performance against Michigan, where he rushed for 155 yards on just 9 attempts.
Manning certainly has one of the highest, if not the highest ceiling of any QB in college football. However, some are still skeptical if he's refined enough to be seen as Heisman worthy.
According to ESPN, Manning was once one of the least accurate QBs outside of the pocket in the country, with a 49.2 completion percentage and 66.7 percent catchable ball rate.
So while his legs are a major weapon, he didn't take advantage of his ability to escape enough.
It's also fair to say that Manning didn't have enough support on offense last season. Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian certainly felt that way, and addressed those issues in the Transfer Portal.
The Longhorns struggled with drops and separation from their wide receivers last season, so they added the top receiver in the portal in Cam Coleman.
Texas' run game was non-existent at times last season, so Sarkisian went out and got two of the top-five running backs in the portal in Hollywood Smother and Raleek Brown.
Last but certainly not least, the Longhorns struggled to protect Manning last season, so they added three transfer offensive linemen. That includes offensive tackle Melvin Siani, who allowed zero sacks last season, according to Pro Football Focus.
Texas has built an environment that sets its QB up to succeed, and that plays a huge factor in why experts are so high on Manning and the Longhorns.
There's plenty of reason to believe he can be a Heisman Contender next season. Now it's up to him to execute.