Former Ohio State Buckeyes football coach Urban Meyer believes the Texas Longhorns’ Week 1 loss at the “Shoe” was more than just an Arch Manning chokejob. Manning was 17/30 passing with a touchdown pass and an interception. He added 38 on the ground in the 14-7 loss in Columbus.
Meyer has never been sold on Manning being a first-round pick, and reminded the college football world of that on Thursday’s edition of The Herd. Meyer even said the Manning name is setting up improper expectations for the 21-year-old.
But Meyer also believes the quarterback position is blamed too much for losses.
“Well, the reality is that the quarterbacks get far too much credit and far too much blame. There weren’t people open, Colin. The maturation of the Buckeye defense, I don’t want to say I was shocked, because they lost five or six players and a coordinator and they looked phenomenal,” Meyer said.
“But I went back and I watched every snap of Arch Manning. And I keep hearing about potential first pick in the NFL Draft, Heisman Trophy, and I keep saying, ‘Stop this. That’s not fair to this guy.’ This guy, if you put any other name on the back of his jersey, let him grow as a player, he’ll be a much different player in four to five weeks.”
Meyer held the same opinion in July when talking about it.
“A player with that name and that background and the expectations put on him, he’s going to have to play great,” Meyer said on “The Triple Option” podcast. “And he’s picking a tough team to play great at, in a tough environment.
“If he struggles, mark this down, there’s gonna be a lot of pressure on that player, unfair pressure. Because he is a hell of a player. Is he going to win the Heisman? I mean, those are big, big questions asked.”
It’s been asked, and in Week 1, with Manning’s odds doubling, Longhorn fans won’t like the answer.