Arch Manning had lofty expectations heading into the 2025 season, taking over as the starting quarterback for Texas after waiting patiently behind Quinn Ewers for the last two seasons.
Through three games as Texas's de facto starter, the results have been far from pretty. Manning has completed just 55.8% of his passes and has six touchdowns and three interceptions. He's looked uncomfortable in the pocket and has often missed routine throws.
With so much pressure on the shoulders of the 21-year-old, one college football analyst thinks that his struggles are more mental than physical. CBS Sports's Danny Kanell compared Manning's disappointing showing to that of a pair of former No. 1 NBA draft picks; Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz.
"It's almost like a Markelle Fultz, Ben Simmons, something going on. Those guys were all everything, they were supposed to be incredible, and then something happened. And it's mostly mental," said Kanell.
"I was wondering how Arch Manning would handle the hysteria that's around him. He downplayed everything, but to me this is very much a quarterback where his confidence is completely shot. And I feel like it's impacting his mechanics, which is the similarity I would compare (to Fultz and Simmons)," he added.
Arch Manning's struggles and mechanical issues have led to some concerning comps from @dannykanell pic.twitter.com/vywj5tnz47
— Cover 3 Podcast (@Cover3Podcast) September 15, 2025
Fultz and Simmons, of course, failed to live up to their potential as No. 1 picks, and both displayed serious issues with confidence not long after entering the league. Fultz, a once silky shooter at the college ranks, developed a hitch in his jump shot and ultimately played just 36 games across two seasons for the 76ers before the two sides parted ways. Simmons, on the other hand, was frequently sidelined by injuries and lacked confidence in his shot when healthy.
Kanell urged Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian to enable Manning to play "more free" and try to reinstall some confidence into the young quarterback, but made clear the team doesn't have much time to get its mojo back with matchups against Florida and Oklahoma looming just weeks away.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as CFB Analyst Compares Arch Manning's Struggles to Two Notorious NBA Players.
