The Arch Manning era at Texas will officially begin in a few weeks when the Longhorns take on the defending-champion Ohio State Buckeyes a week from Saturday in Columbus.
Manning will be facing a ton of pressure from the moment that game begins, as expectations for the QB are sky-high heading into his first season as the team's starting quarterback. Texas is ranked No. 1 to start the season and he'll be thrown right to the wolves in the road opener against a Buckeyes team that is ranked No. 3 in the country.
Ed Orgeron, who won a national title during his days as the head coach at LSU, raised those expectations a little bit higher this week when he compared Manning to a current NFL star quarterback that the former coach knows pretty well—Joe Burrow.
During an appearance on Pardon My Take, Orgeron didn't hesitate to name Manning as the one quarterback he would choose to lead a team in college football this year.
Then he made the Burrow comparison.
“And I'll say this conservatively... but Arch is as close to, or maybe as good as Joe [Burrow] as I've seen. And I've never said that about anybody”
Here's that clip:
Coach O on @PardonMyTake about Arch Manning:
— Arch Manning Highlights (@ArchHighlights) August 18, 2025
“And I'll say this conservatively…but Arch is as close to -- or maybe as good as -- Joe [Burrow] as I've seen. And I've never said that about anybody”
Says if he could coach any QB this season it would be Arch pic.twitter.com/zo6NQQSCWp
Burrow, of course, was the QB on Orgeron's LSU team that won a national title. He also won the Heisman that year.
Will Manning be able to do either of those things in his first full year as a starter? We'll have to wait and see. But it's safe to say all eyes will be on him all year long, starting with that juicy showdown against Ohio State.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Ed Orgeron Compares Arch Manning to Current Star NFL Quarterback.
