Draft media bares its backside over Arch Manning

Last season Manning started two games in relief of an injured Quinn Ewers. He showed nothing in those two starts to feel like he was destined to be a first round pick, let alone anything more. With Ewers now in the NFL, Manning had his chance to justify the hype. Instead he showed what a player starting his third college football game under center often looks like.

I feel bad for him. Dan Orlovsky ridiculously called him a ‘generational talent’ after the game, bemoaning the Longhorns for not letting him loose as a passer. He’s shown nothing to warrant that label. He merely has a ‘generational’ second name.

Pair this along with all the various draft pundits — including nearly all of the big names — putting Manning at the top of their ‘way too early’ mock drafts and big boards. How the heck can anyone justify that? In what world is he a better overall talent for the 2026 draft than Caleb Downs?

He isn’t ready for the NFL. In fact he’s a mile away. And guess what? Anyone with only three college starts is going to be. Like nearly every human he’ll need at least two years of starting to get a proper picture as to what he is in the league. He’d benefit from playing longer than that in college, because we can see how extra time and playing experience has helped the likes of Jayden Daniels, Cam Ward, Bo Nix and Michael Penix Jr in recent years.

Make a note of the people who put Manning at the top of their boards and keep it in mind. They are either under pressure from editors to build up the Manning name as a story, they had their head turned by the second name and forgot to actually do any scouting or they simply don’t know what they’re talking about.

Stop with the lofty projections for 2026. Stop calling him a ‘generational talent’. Let him play games for Texas for two full seasons and at some point next year let’s have a conversation about how he’s developing, like we would any other quarterback.

Against Ohio State he looked like a dear in headlights for most of it. He isn’t ready for NFL chatter and nobody should’ve expected him to be.

Garrett Nussmeier is the real deal, Cade Klubnik is not

I wrote last week that Nussmeier was easily QB1 and that Klubnik had become overrated. I think the LSU vs Clemson game justified that take.

Nussemeier is a very natural passer. His release is sound, he throws with anticipation, there’s good velocity on his throws while retaining the ability to deliver with touch, he can move around surprisingly well and throw on the run with accuracy and he handles pressure better than the other draft-eligible QB’s. He had more pro-level throws last season than any other quarterback in college football. He also had too many ‘WTF’ mistakes and that’s why he returned to LSU, to cut those down. He did that against Clemson with zero turnovers.

His stat-line would’ve looked even better but for a terrible officiating call to take a clear touchdown off the board after a perfect throw and catch was ruled out:

Nussmeier did not disappoint in this game. Remember, he was also playing a loaded defense with two prospective first round defensive linemen, playing behind a patched up offensive line that lost four starters to the NFL last year.

People seemed to have forgotten all the positives from last season and it was surprising to see Todd McShay grading Klubnik ahead of Nussmeier when he did his quarterback rankings recently. The Clemson quarterback showed here why that was a bad take.

Too many of his passes were off-target — thrown too high or behind. He had a lousy interception that was hopelessly overthrown. Klubnik had a chance to drive at the end and get a game-tying touchdown and couldn’t deliver. He didn’t have a touchdown in the game.

He’s a good athlete and can move around well. We saw some decent gains with his legs. However, Nussmeier is just on a completely different level as a passer. Going into the season I gave Klubnik a tentative early day three grade and frankly didn’t see anything last night to make me think that was harsh.

Nussmeier on the other hand was the only quarterback I felt worthy of a firm ‘could go in round one’ grade. If he can continue to limit the errors, keep winning with LSU and have a strong season as the leader of that team (he’s now wearing the fabled #18 jersey) — he has every opportunity to be the top quarterback taken next year.

The other players who impressed in the game included LSU transfer cornerback Mansoor Delane, who played very well. Avieon Terrell the Clemson corner also flashed. I liked the look of Clemson linebacker Wade Woodaz before he left the game with a shoulder injury. Pass rusher TJ Parker had his moments but I expected a bit more from Peter Woods given the changes to LSU’s offensive line.

Other notes

— Alabama left tackle Kadyn Proctor is often talked-up as a top-10 pick. I didn’t even have him projected for round one based on my summer tape study. I think he’s too big and clunky and doesn’t move well enough. Against Florida State he was beat multiple times off the edge, giving up two sacks and six pressures. I really don’t understand what some of the draft media are seeing. The same goes for Alabama linebacker Dontae Lawson. He’s just not a projectable player early, yet I keep seeing him listed on big boards. He’s not physical enough, not quick enough and he doesn’t play the run well when he’s asked to come downhill.

— Penn State’s Dani Dennis-Sutton was very impressive against Nevada. He looks strong and powerful on contact, he clearly has some quickness for his frame, he gets low into his stance almost like a linebacker and uncoil’s to launch into contact. DDS has plenty of base power, violent hands and he’s capable of demolishing tight ends who try to block him. This was my first chance to really watch him and he flashed first round talent.

— Drew Allar had a reasonably good performance. He moved around and made plays on the run. He has really come on as a passer since year one and just looks far more comfortable throwing to all areas of the field. He had a nice touchdown pass with decent placement from a difficult body position. The problem is he’s very big and not the most agile. He does give you Brock Osweiler vibes at times but let’s not forget Osweiler was a high pick made by John Elway. Allar has talent and could be QB2 behind Nussmeier but he’ll face tougher challenges than a fairly routine win at home against Nevada.

— One of the players of the weekend was Jermaine Mathews Jr the Ohio State cornerback. He had a great interception of Arch Manning by running the receiver’s route. He almost had another, undercutting a route and deflecting the ball into the path of Sonny Styles (the linebacker couldn’t quite complete the catch). Mathews Jr is a bigger corner, he’s physical and looks the part. He did give up the Texas touchdown later on but his coverage was good — he just needed to be a little more physical with the receiver and do a better job playing the ball. He caught my attention and I want to see more.

— Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King is fun to watch. He has some skill as a passer and he’s a strong runner. As we saw last year, he’s also an absolute warrior. Against Colorado on Friday, his offensive line was a shambles. He had no time to throw and often had to make things happen with his legs. He did it superbly. There’s a player here and I can’t help but feel he’s being slept on a little bit. King won’t be a high pick but he has some tools to work with, plus he’s willing his team to compete every time he’s on the field.

— Baylor quarterback Sawyer Robertson flashed physical tools in a heavy defeat to Auburn, who were simply too good on the night. Defensive end Kedric Faulk, for example, showed why he could easily be a top-10 pick next year. Robertson has the size and the traits to be an intriguing draft prospect but I’m not sure he’s there yet on a technical level. Neither do Baylor look good enough to truly elevate his stock.

— No player brings me more joy to watch than Utah’s Spencer Fano. It’s not often you watch a highlights video to see a right tackle but that’s how he plays. He jumped off the screen multiple times with his footwork and agility at his size, his outstanding power and control at the point of attack and he just moves people with ease. Fano is one of the most controlling, bullying linemen I’ve ever watched. He’s a pancake machine. At one point in the game he dropped a defensive lineman to the turf, buried him, then got up and looked for a second defender to block on the run. A truly incredible talent and a player destined to go very early. I can’t wait to watch the full game tape of the UCLA beatdown.