Recruiting expert says 5-star QB Arch Manning would be a 3-star if not for last name

Koki Riley, Lafayette Daily Advertiser
·2 min read
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Recruiting experts have labeled five-star quarterback and recent Texas commitment Arch Manning as many things.

But overrated was not one of them.

Mike Farrell, the former national director of recruiting at Rivals and self-proclaimed "Godfather of Recruiting," believes that Manning would be a three-star recruit if his last name were not Manning.

"If his name was Arch Smith, I think he'd probably be a high three-star quarterback," Farrell said on the Daily Wistreaming show Crain and Company.

He may be the nephew of Super Bowl champions Peyton and Eli Manning, but Arch Manning is accomplished in his own right.

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EXPLAINING ARCH'S TEXAS COMMITMENT: Explaining Arch Manning's Texas Longhorns football commitment and why it's no surprise

At 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, Arch Manning is the No. 1 player in the nation in the Class of 2023, according to Rivals, 247Sports and On3 Sports. With Isidore Newman as a junior last season, he threw for 1,913 yards and 26 touchdowns while also rushing for six scores and 381 yards.

And unlike his uncles, he started at Newman as a freshman and has led them to the semifinals of the Division III playoffs the last two seasons.

Farell believes Arch Manning hasn't "progressed" as a quarterback since his freshman season and that the level of competition he plays against blurs his quality as a prospect.

"When he has had to step up against other competition, especially in the playoff game where he looked awful, it just hasn't translated," Farrell said. "Every time I watch other quarterbacks in this class, it knocks Arch down in my head."

Koki Riley covers LSU sports for The Daily Advertiser and the USA TODAY Sports South Region. Email him at kriley@theadvertiser.com and follow him on Twitter at @KokiRiley.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Arch Manning three-star if last name was Smith, says recruiting expert