While the whole world is hyping up Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning, one analyst doesn’t seem to be that impressed, and that’s the SEC Network and ESPN college football analyst Jordan Rodgers.
Rodgers is not quite ready to crown Manning the king of college football.
“The hype doesn’t match the type,” Rodgers said Wednesday on “Get Up”. “There are good things, the tape to me doesn’t tell that you have a first round draft pick or a top 10 draft pick or No. 1 overall draft pick or a Heisman hopeful, I think he is going into Ohio State and he’s going to struggle because he hasn't played anybody. The last time we saw him against a really good defense was against Georgia, and he looked out of place.”
Rodgers added, “He looked really good against UTSA, Louisiana Monroe, and Mississippi State, the worst defense in the SEC. I think there is a lot for him to grow and a lot we need to see. “
What Rodgers said is not wrong. Manning didn’t play well against a quality opponent like Georgia, and although the Buckeyes will be starting a new quarterback themselves Saturday, Manning will be starting on the road against the second-best team in the country, and that won't be an easy task, as some, like Paul Finebaum, seem to think.
Finebaum thinks the Longhorns will blow out the Buckeyes and has said recently that he thinks Manning is a generational talent that the SEC hasn’t seen in decades.
“It’s going to be Arch ‘Madness’ after the game. Manning leads the Longhorns to a smashing victory. I’ve been accused of being a little bit too high on Arch. I don’t think that you can be high enough on this young man. He is outstanding,” he said.
It may be a bit much to ask a kid with little experience to carry his team to a victory his first time on the road against one of the best teams in the country.