Greg McElroy explains Arch Manning’s ‘heavy burden’ as Texas’ starting QB in 2025

Texas quarterback Arch Manning is already viewed as one of the top QBs in college football, despite having made just two starts in his college career. That’s understandable given the fact that he was the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2023 and is from the greatest quarterback family of all time.

ESPN college football analyst Greg McElroy believes that Arch Manning is worthy of all the hype he is receiving, but he also warned that Manning is carrying a heavy burden as he takes over the Texas starting quarterback job.

Look, Arch has a heavy burden. Let’s just acknowledge. Because I think us as American sports fans, we acknowledge, we see the last name Manning, and we think he’s the next great American quarterback,” Greg McElroy said Friday on SportsCenter. “He’s the guy that is best positioned to challenge Patrick Mahomes at the next level, because why wouldn’t he be? That’s what I think people think.”

There is a big difference between being one of the best quarterbacks in college football and being ready to challenge Patrick Mahomes, but according to McElroy, some have that expectation of Manning.

McElroy feels like a portion of football fans are expecting too much from Manning.

“Now, I don’t know if that’s fair, because Arch needs to be Arch,” McElroy said. “He’s not today Peyton. He’s not today Eli. He just needs to be himself, and that’s a really heavy burden to deal with.”