Matt Barrie Says Pressure on Arch Manning is 'Unfair'

Matt Barrie Says Pressure on Arch Manning is 'Unfair' originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

The Texas Longhorns will get their first look at Arch Manning as the full-time starter in 2025 after backing up Quinn Ewers for the last two seasons.

Manning came in for Ewers during the UTSA game after suffering an oblique injury in Week 2 versus the Michigan Wolverines. Manning started the next two games against UL Monroe and the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

While the hype around the young quarterback has dominated the offseason, Matt Barrie did not want to get ahead of himself on a recent episode of "Always College Football."

Barrie called the pressure on Manning "unfair" since the Texas star has not played meaningful snaps.

"I'm not going to go all Finebaum on you with the Tim Tebow and this, that and the other, but they have that ability and Arch has that name to take over college football for the next couple of years if he wants," Barrie said. "But it's an enormous amount of pressure. That's why I say it's kind of unfair. I just want to see the guy play good football first, right before I start handing him the Heisman and making him the No. 1 overall pick."

The quarterback played in 10 games, throwing for 939 passing yards, with 13 total touchdowns and two interceptions.

Barrie is not the only one to highlight the amount of pressure Manning will face in 2025, with On3's Pete Nakos including the gunslinger at No. 8 on a quarterback pressure list.

However, Joel Klatt already made an NFL comparison for Manning, saying that the Texas star reminded him of former Clemson Tigers quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

All eyes are on Manning and Texas this season.

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 1, 2025, where it first appeared.