There might not be anything like him.
Paul Finebaum Struggles to Find a Comparison for Arch Manning’s Popularity originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
At SEC Media Days on Tuesday, Arch Manning and the Texas Longhorns made a notable impact. Numerous reporters surrounded the first-year starter to hear his thoughts on the upcoming season.
Manning is the grandson of legendary college football quarterback Archie Manning and the nephew of NFL stars Peyton and Eli Manning. As the top recruit in the 2023 recruiting class, he has been patiently waiting for his opportunity to become the starting quarterback.
Manning has been the backup to Quinn Ewers for the past two seasons. With Ewers heading to the NFL, it's now time for the Manning era to begin. On "The Paul Finebaum Show," the SEC Network analyst shared that he has never witnessed anything like Manning's popularity at SEC Media Days.
"There's really no modern-day comparison, I don't think," Finebaum said. "People in New York, people in Los Angeles, they know Arch. They don't know very much else. Manziel might have been bigger in the sense that he came here after getting kicked out of the Manning Camp. There was hardly anything quite like it. Arch, everybody was having fun. With Manziel, nobody knew whether he was even going to be eligible."
Finebaum recently made headlines by comparing Manning to the legendary Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow. Ironically, he has previously criticized these comparisons.
Finebaum previously said, "I think if there is a criticism of him, I think he comes across too cool. I believe he's ready, but he's being asked questions like, 'Are you the best player in college football?' So, that's a lot to deal with. I think he's ready for the moment, but it's one thing to be ready for the moment, and then deal with it."
Finebaum pointed out that Manning will face considerable scrutiny and hype this upcoming season. While he believes Manning is capable of handling this pressure, he also acknowledges that it could be challenging.
Texas and Manning will kick off their season against the defending champion Ohio State Buckeyes on Aug. 30 at noon ET on Fox in a challenging environment.
Related: Joel Klatt Gives Honest Opinion of Arch Manning
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 19, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: General Sports
