Texas commit Arch Manning draws Andrew Luck comparisons

Arguably the toughest part about evaluating talent across any sport is attempting to compare players to those who have come before them in order to best describe their game. 

We see it a lot in basketball with every tall skinny player that can handle the ball and shoot being compared to Kevin Durant, but I would argue that while there aren't more than one Kevin Durant's walking around it is easier to compare players in basketball. 

When it comes to football, there are just so many factors that impact a players game whether be their physical attributes, mental makeup, the scheme they are in, or their level of competition. The recruiting site, On3, released their comparisons between the 2023 classes top recruits and NFL players. 

There was one comparison that stood out to me, which was of course the No. 1 overall player, Arch Manning's comp. If that name sounds familiar, it should. Manning is the grandson of college football legend Archie Manning, and the nephew of former NFL stars Peyton and Eli Manning. His recruitment was one of the most anticipated in the history of recruiting for a couple reasons. One of them obviously being that every school in the country wanted Manning and was vying for his services in what was a quiet recruitment, but the other being that people are questioning if he would be as highly regarded if he had a different last name. 

That's right, many analyst and fans alike were critical of just about every recruiting services rankings of Manning, as they felt the fact that he hails from such a prestigious football family that he was getting the benefit of the doubt despite weaker competition and poor playoff performances. However, On3 is confident in saying that he is the No. 1 ranked recruit, and even compared him to Stanford legend Andrew Luck.

The former Cardinal and Indianapolis Colt quarterback is widely regarded as one of the biggest "what ifs?" in sports history due to his early retirement at the ripe age of 29. However, prior to stepping away from the sport he dominated at both the college and NFL level. He lead Stanford to their best two-year win total since 1991-91, and walked away from the NFL with a 53-33 record, with his 171 touchdown passes trailing just Dan Marino, Aaron Rodgers and Brett Favre for the most in the first 100 starts of a quarterback’s career.

Now On3's comparison isn't saying that Manning is as good as luck was right now or even will be eventually, as Luck is still considered to be one of the best quarterback prospects ever, but they did see similarities in their games. Here is what they said about Manning's game and how it compared to Luck's:

Arch Manning is a similar size to Luck coming out of high school, if not a touch heavier at 6-foot-4, 215 pounds. The play styles at the high school level are also similar. Both are accurate passers who excel in working from inside the structure of an offense. Luck’s high school team was not loaded with talent and he was often forced to make individual plays outside of the pocket. Luck ran for over 2,000 yards in his high school career and was probably a bit further along in that regard than Manning. Conversely, Manning has a quicker release than Luck.

Unlike Luck, Manning will have a world of pressure on him due to his last name and of course his decision to play at Texas. Similar to Luck, he is expected to lead that program to glory and go on to be a top pick in the NFL Draft. 

It will be interesting to come back to this comparison in a few years to see if it still holds up or not.