Arch Manning open letter…

[TNbuc2]

He’s not even better than the QB we have committed now.

Only reason he’s hyped so much is his last name.

I said the same thing about Peyton, Brandon Stewart was my choice. Goes to show how much I knew.

 

[DawgInterloper]

It has been interesting to see the recruitment of the next SEC Manning QB… while I certainly hope for our Vols to have all the success we desreve, I’d offer following:

- I am a huge fan of Saturday’s in the South on SECN. Today featured (ironically) Bama and (to lesser extent) Ole Miss, and Vols.

- I will always be a fan of “Family Tradition” before college athletics.

While I am quite positive that Arch can go wherever he likes, I personally hope he goes to either Ole Miss or LSU… grandad Arch was awesome (as was Peyton and Eli), hoping he can continue family “legacy” down south (as opposed to going to the “other“ UT, or Bama/ Ga). I’m confident we have our future star in Nico, hoping Arch will make right decision (OM,or LSU)..just not seeing any upside going outside those - Arch will certainly be drafted based on his talent/family name).

In case he chooses either Ole Miss or LSU, I’d love a UT visior autographed by Lane Kiffen or LSU jersey signed by Arch (calling on you Lane or Brian)…and if Nico following now, I’d love some signed swag from you before you are a star in the NFL! GO VOLS!

So you'd prefer he go somewhere other than UGA or Alabama; fair enough and probably goes without saying among rival fans when it comes to high profile recruits.

As a Georgia fan, I have mixed emotions about Arch. If he's willing to go to UGA and work hard to try and move up the depth chart, possibly have to practice and learn for two or even three seasons to earn a starting job , love to have him. If he's like Justin Fields and a lot of other high profile athletes, prone to start griping about playing time by the 2nd game of his first season, starts looking to transfer if he's not starting before his freshman year is completed, then I'd rather see him go elsewhere and sincerely wish him best of luck.

 

[volfan_28]

Anywhere but Georgia. They’ve had their fun, they need to start trending back towards reality.

I hope he tries.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

Good Lord man. A Heisman trophy winner and NFL veteran starting QB on a bad team. Then a Heisman runner up iirc who absolutely lit up CFB records and nearly carried a trash college team to the SECCG, the #1 draft pick, followed by a stellar 2 Super Bowl championship NFL career.

What exactly is your "really good" standard ... like top 10 all time or something? 😲

No Manning has ever won the Heisman. Archie in college, had a career 52% completion, 31 TDs to 40 INTs. In the NFL he was a 55% completion guy who threw 125 TDs to 173 INTs.

Eli was good. His 2003 year was good. Eli didn’t have a stellar career. He had a decent NFL career. He never led the NFL in any significant passing categories. Well he did lead the NFL in INTs 3 times. In 16 seasons he never made 1 first team all-pro. Only went to the prow bowl 4 times. Yes he won 2 Super Bowls. But did you watch them? If you did then you would have realized his defenses kept the Pats at bay.

So sorry the stats say that neither Archie nor Eli were very good in college or the NFL.

 

[WoodsmanVol]

No Manning has ever won the Heisman. Archie in college, had a career 52% completion, 31 TDs to 40 INTs. In the NFL he was a 55% completion guy who threw 125 TDs to 173 INTs.
Eli was good. His 2003 year was good. Eli didn’t have a stellar career. He had a decent NFL career. He never led the NFL in any significant passing categories. Well he did lead the NFL in INTs 3 times. In 16 seasons he never made 1 first team all-pro. Only went to the prow bowl 4 times. Yes he won 2 Super Bowls. But did you watch them? If you did then you would have realized his defenses kept the Pats at bay.
So sorry the stats say that neither Archie nor Eli were very good in college or the NFL.

Now, there's a thunk.

 

[VOL89grad]

Just finished watching (again) episode 6 of Saturday‘s in South on SECN this afternoon… epic for us Vol Fans😁, maybe they put it on after this post🤣. Writing to the bulldog fan on Vols board (livefaith)…simply stated, Yes I’d rather have Arch go to OM or LSU than bama, texas, or georgia (or even the Vols)… if he wants to establish himself, he be wise to join some other team. I agree tennessee has our guy in Nico (and Coach Heupel) as others have stated… looking forward to season ahead (Hendon, Cedric, Jabari, etc make us proud!). Go Vols!

Outside of “needing to prove himself“ (obviously important to Manning family based on Arch Sr, Peyton, and even Eli’s pick for college), it just doesn’t make sense to me he’d choose bama or dogs (or even Texas)… there would always be those who will point to the other star athletes who are currently on their rosters. I have nothing but respect for all of the Manning’s… as I said before, it’s interesting to follow young Arch’s recruitment.

Happy Father’s Day to all you Vol dad’s out there!

 

[ABINGDON VOL FAN]

Let’s be honest here. Archie and Eli were not really good QBs. Peyton was the only real good one.

Let’s be honest here. Archie and Eli were not really good QBs. Peyton was the only real good one.

NFL Hall of Fame, Two time Pro-bowl and named NFL player of the year by UPI in 78 or 79.

What are your achievements in football and/or other sports you may have participated in.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

NFL Hall of Fame, Two time Pro-bowl and named NFL player of the year by UPI in 78 or 79.

What are your achievements in football and/or other sports you may have participated in.

Archie never won the official NFL MVP. He won the UPI for the NFC, not the entire league. Archie isn’t in the Hall of Fame either. If you are going to argue get your facts right.

So a person has to have major accomplishments in sports to give facts and critiques on professional players? Cool man. I guess the vast majority of sports analysts shouldn’t be doing their job. Good grief.

 

[J C Higgins]

No Manning has ever won the Heisman. Archie in college, had a career 52% completion, 31 TDs to 40 INTs. In the NFL he was a 55% completion guy who threw 125 TDs to 173 INTs.

Eli was good. His 2003 year was good. Eli didn’t have a stellar career. He had a decent NFL career. He never led the NFL in any significant passing categories. Well he did lead the NFL in INTs 3 times. In 16 seasons he never made 1 first team all-pro. Only went to the prow bowl 4 times. Yes he won 2 Super Bowls. But did you watch them? If you did then you would have realized his defenses kept the Pats at bay.

So sorry the stats say that neither Archie nor Eli were very good in college or the NFL.

Disagree about Archie in college. Watched him play several times. He was good......could run and was a decent passer.

 

[RDU VOL#14]

So you'd prefer he go somewhere other than UGA or Alabama; fair enough and probably goes without saying among rival fans when it comes to high profile recruits.

As a Georgia fan, I have mixed emotions about Arch. If he's willing to go to UGA and work hard to try and move up the depth chart, possibly have to practice and learn for two or even three seasons to earn a starting job , love to have him. If he's like Justin Fields and a lot of other high profile athletes, prone to start griping about playing time by the 2nd game of his first season, starts looking to transfer if he's not starting before his freshman year is completed, then I'd rather see him go elsewhere and sincerely wish him best of luck.

There is 1 common denominator that has to do with why all of the 5 star QB talent that left Athens. It blows my mind why any big time QB would ever consider going there. Didn’t say running back, O line, linebacker or D Line should not go there, but definitely not a quarterback.

 

[DawgInterloper]

There is 1 common denominator that has to do with why all of the 5 star QB talent that left Athens. It blows my mind why any big time QB would ever consider going there. Didn’t say running back, O line, linebacker or D Line should not go there, but definitely not a quarterback.

I'm not sure what common denominator you mean, but Georgia's former 2 star recruit walk-on QB was one of the most efficient college passers in the nation in 2021. He stuck around long enough to hone his skills and earn the job, and played very well despite not having ideal physical attributes for a great QB. If Stetson Bennett can do that in Athens, then a more talented QB can do the same or better if he has a good attitude and work ethic.

 

[Vol4ever]

Anywhere but Georgia. They’ve had their fun, they need to start trending back towards reality.

You mean anywhere but bammer.

 

[ABINGDON VOL FAN]

Archie never won the official NFL MVP. He won the UPI for the NFC, not the entire league. Archie isn’t in the Hall of Fame either. If you are going to argue get your facts right.

So a person has to have major accomplishments in sports to give facts and critiques on professional players? Cool man. I guess the vast majority of sports analysts shouldn’t be doing their job. Good grief.

You cannot compare the stats of a Qb from the 60’s and 70’s with the stats of Qb’s from the last 20 years. The game has changed. Even Unitas’s stats would look pedestrian with most of the Qb’s playing today.

Yes/you should remain silent when stating an NFL Qb with Archie’s credential's is not a good Qb. He certainly reached a level that most of us could only dream about accomplishing.

 

[RDU VOL#14]

I'm not sure what common denominator you mean, but Georgia's former 2 star recruit walk-on QB was one of the most efficient college passers in the nation in 2021. He stuck around long enough to hone his skills and earn the job, and played very well despite not having ideal physical attributes for a great QB. If Stetson Bennett can do that in Athens, then a more talented QB can do the same or better if he has a good attitude and work ethic.

I’m saying that for all of the good/great players you have had at a lot of positions, Quarterback isn’t one of them. You’ve had 3 5 ⭐️ QB’s transfer out during Kirby’s time there? Is that right? Bennett, just like Fromm fits Kirby’s style bc he is coachable and he’s learned to be efficient and manage the game . If Bennett isn’t surrounded by an all world defense last season you don’t win a title with him at QB. He doesn’t make the guys around him better, the guys around him lift him up. I don’t think that’s an unfair critique of Stetson. His job is to not the lose the game and even though you guys will obviously reload after losing 15 guys to the draft I think it’s possible you’re gonna need him to win a game or 2.

 

[miket4god]

Arch doesn't really play against any competition in high school. I haven't heard anything about him doing any of these 7on7 competitions where its the best against the best. Im not convinced he is the number 1 recruit in the nation. He might very well be, im just not convinced yet.

Arch plays against the same high school competition Peyton did. He seemed pretty well prepared to me.

 

[livefaith]

No Manning has ever won the Heisman. Archie in college, had a career 52% completion, 31 TDs to 40 INTs. In the NFL he was a 55% completion guy who threw 125 TDs to 173 INTs.

Eli was good. His 2003 year was good. Eli didn’t have a stellar career. He had a decent NFL career. He never led the NFL in any significant passing categories. Well he did lead the NFL in INTs 3 times. In 16 seasons he never made 1 first team all-pro. Only went to the prow bowl 4 times. Yes he won 2 Super Bowls. But did you watch them? If you did then you would have realized his defenses kept the Pats at bay.

So sorry the stats say that neither Archie nor Eli were very good in college or the NFL.

Pretty high standards bud.

 

[Weevol]

I said the same thing about Peyton, Brandon Stewart was my choice. Goes to show how much I knew.

I was enrolled at Tennessee during this time. I was definitely Pro Brandon Stewart. Obviously I was wrong also...

 

[ABINGDON VOL FAN]

No Manning has ever won the Heisman. Archie in college, had a career 52% completion, 31 TDs to 40 INTs. In the NFL he was a 55% completion guy who threw 125 TDs to 173 INTs.

Eli was good. His 2003 year was good. Eli didn’t have a stellar career. He had a decent NFL career. He never led the NFL in any significant passing categories. Well he did lead the NFL in INTs 3 times. In 16 seasons he never made 1 first team all-pro. Only went to the prow bowl 4 times. Yes he won 2 Super Bowls. But did you watch them? If you did then you would have realized his defenses kept the Pats at bay.

So sorry the stats say that neither Archie nor Eli were very good in college or the NFL.

Eli made crucial timely plays in the 4th Qtr of both SB’s. He played big time as much as Manning or Brady in their SB wins.

 

[DawgInterloper]

I’m saying that for all of the good/great players you have had at a lot of positions, Quarterback isn’t one of them. You’ve had 3 5 ⭐️ QB’s transfer out during Kirby’s time there? Is that right? Bennett, just like Fromm fits Kirby’s style bc he is coachable and he’s learned to be efficient and manage the game . If Bennett isn’t surrounded by an all world defense last season you don’t win a title with him at QB. He doesn’t make the guys around him better, the guys around him lift him up. I don’t think that’s an unfair critique of Stetson. His job is to not the lose the game and even though you guys will obviously reload after losing 15 guys to the draft I think it’s possible you’re gonna need him to win a game or 2.

Good coaches don't start the highest recruiting service rated QB, they start the one who proves he can reliably perform best and win games. Presumably, that's why Hooker won the job over two higher rated QB's at UT. Likewise, after Daniels was injured, Stetson Bennett didn't get and keep the job because he was just a game manager. He kept it because he was executing the full offense, particularly in the 1st half when games were in doubt.

Comparing 1st half passing stats of SEC teams (cfbstats.com), Georgia had the highest rated passing offense, highest yards per passing attempt, and 3rd highest first half passing ypg in 2021. UGA had more than twice as many passing yards as rushing yds in the 1st half of games (169 to 82). They did that despite a banged up receiving and TE corps, which resulted in UGA's receiving yardage leaders being three freshmen and a sophmore (two 3 stars, two 4 stars), followed by 2 running backs. The result was an average halftime lead of 17.5 points (FBS only games), largest in the country (teamrankings.com). In the 2nd half of most games, Bennett was indeed a game manager, because that was appropriate with injured receivers, a big lead and a good defense.

So yes, three 5 stars have transferred, but not because Smart only wants "game managers". One (inherited recruit) underperformed and lost the job to a true freshman. One wasn't ready as a true freshman, got impatient and announced to transfer before his freshman season was over. One intermittently missed multiple games and parts of games due to various injury issues, until finally the coaches decided it was too late in the season to switch QB's again and stayed with the backup who was consistently performing well.

 

[OrangeTsar]

I don’t think QB will be the reason we do or don’t beat GA going forward.

At least we hopefully will not lose based on QB play. Even if a QB can’t necessarily WIN a game on their own, they sure can lose one with interceptions and pick sixes

 

[volbound1700]

Not sure of the hate for the kid. He hasn't done anything to show he is a prima donna. I think the media is the one obsessively hyping up his recruiting process.

Interesting, Phillip Fulmer has been consulted about Arch Manning if you believe the discussion points. I know Tennessee is out of the running and went in another direction but Fulmer's take was interesting. He talked about Peyton's recruitment and mentioned that the Mannings keep it very close-lipped and look at a lot of data when it comes to school selection.

It will be a very factual selection rather than an emotional/hyped selection. I would think Ole Miss would be a leader with the offense they run and family connections but apparently the Mannings are not fans of Kiffin or the system.

They are going to go to a school where a pro-style can prosper. This makes me think Georgia, Texas, and LSU are high on the list.

The one item about CFB is that the sport has changed since Eli and Peyton played. Mobile QBs are becoming almost a requirement in the sport.

 

[volbound1700]

Arch plays against the same high school competition Peyton did. He seemed pretty well prepared to me.

This kid is likely the real deal. Only concern is the fact that the sport has changed a lot since they played. Mobile QBs seem to be more of a requirement.

I imagine Offensive-line play will factor in heavily with the decision. That tends to favor Georgia.

 

[RDU VOL#14]

Good coaches don't start the highest recruiting service rated QB, they start the one who proves he can reliably perform best and win games. Presumably, that's why Hooker won the job over two higher rated QB's at UT. Likewise, after Daniels was injured, Stetson Bennett didn't get and keep the job because he was just a game manager, he kept it because he was executing the full offense, particularly in the 1st half when games were in doubt.

Comparing 1st half passing stats of SEC teams (cfbstats.com), Georgia had the highest rated passing offense, highest yards per passing attempt, and 3rd highest first half passing ypg in 2021. UGA had more than twice as many passing yards as rushing yds in the 1st half of games (169 to 82). They did that despite a banged up receiving and TE corps, which resulted in UGA's receiving yardage leaders being three freshmen and a sophmore (two 3 stars, two 4 stars), followed by 2 running backs. The result was an average halftime lead of 17.5 points (FBS only games), largest in the country (teamrankings.com). In the 2nd half of most games, Bennett was indeed a game manager, because that was appropriate with injured receivers, a big lead and a good defense.

So yes, three 5 stars have transferred, but not because Smart only wants "game managers". One (inherited recruit) underperformed and lost the job to a true freshman. One wasn't ready as a true freshman, got impatient and announced to transfer before his freshman season was over. One intermittently missed multiple games and parts of games due to various injury issues, until finally the coaches decided it was too late in the season to switch QB's again and stayed with the backup who was consistently performing well.

I never said that Kirby only wants game managers. I did say that it seems like Fromm and Bennett fit Kirby’s coaching style of play D, control the tempo by running the ball consistently, utilize the tight ends in the passing game and then take the occasional shot off of play action . There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s obviously a winning formula, but it’s a different brand of ball than most are playing right now . You threw out some impressive stats, I can’t refute those, but I bet looking back, situationally the offense was in pretty good shape to begin with a lot of the time. Yeah it was executed and you scored points, but is anyone looking at Bennett as a future NFL quarterback? Is Fromm ever going to be a starter? Probably not. So when I question why a big time quarterback would choose UGA over someone like Sark at Texas who has put a lot of guys in the League, it’s because Kirby doesn’t have a strong track record for putting QB’s in the NFL and thus far guys haven’t really been asked to showcase their talents all that much.

 

[DawgInterloper]

I never said that Kirby only wants game managers. I did say that it seems like Fromm and Bennett fit Kirby’s coaching style of play D, control the tempo by running the ball consistently, utilize the tight ends in the passing game and then take the occasional shot off of play action . There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s obviously a winning formula, but it’s a different brand of ball than most are playing right now . You threw out some impressive stats, I can’t refute those, but I bet looking back, situationally the offense was in pretty good shape to begin with a lot of the time. Yeah it was executed and you scored points, but is anyone looking at Bennett as a future NFL quarterback? Is Fromm ever going to be a starter? Probably not. So when I question why a big time quarterback would choose UGA over someone like Sark at Texas who has put a lot of guys in the League, it’s because Kirby doesn’t have a strong track record for putting QB’s in the NFL and thus far guys haven’t really been asked to showcase their talents all that much.

It's true that Kirby doesn't have a head coaching record of producing NFL QB's. And honestly never likely to get credit for QB's because of his defensive background. Acclaim for offensive success will gravitate to whomever is running that side of the ball, and only secondarily to Smart for making good hires. Nevertheless, I think that this year's offense under Moncken was promising and we have some potentially very good college QB's on roster (pending future portal action) no matter what Arch Manning does. Honestly, I'd be fine with a low profile 2023 QB recruit who's more likely to stick around and learn the ropes.

As for really showcasing a QB with talent (Heisman NFL, etc.) , Kirby's had two with that kind of potential, IMO. Fields just was not going to wait and the coaches made a decision to play Fromm, who was a better QB at that moment. If Fields had stayed, he would've been the starter at some point early in his soph season, IMO. JT Daniels, IMO, is the best passer and probably best technical QB Georgia's had since Stafford. Georgia's offensive and defensive coaches were always very impressed with JT's ability. I also think he has some doubts about playing football (which are not unreasonable thoughts to have), and that made Georgia's coaches stick with a more reliable player who had over half a season under his belt and was doing a good job.

 

[OrangeBeachVol]

So you'd prefer he go somewhere other than UGA or Alabama; fair enough and probably goes without saying among rival fans when it comes to high profile recruits.

As a Georgia fan, I have mixed emotions about Arch. If he's willing to go to UGA and work hard to try and move up the depth chart, possibly have to practice and learn for two or even three seasons to earn a starting job , love to have him. If he's like Justin Fields and a lot of other high profile athletes, prone to start griping about playing time by the 2nd game of his first season, starts looking to transfer if he's not starting before his freshman year is completed, then I'd rather see him go elsewhere and sincerely wish him best of luck.

A recruit of his stature, whether deserved or not, is not going to ride the pine 2-3 seasons to get to play his Sr yr. for any team. He will be the starter wherever he goes from day 1. I believe that will be the deal made. Kirby may not be willing to make that deal but others will.