Arch Manning Commits To Texas, Opening Door For Big 12 Tilt With BYU
Jun 23, 2022, 11:33 AM | Updated: 11:44 am
The No. 1 QB in the class of 2023 Arch Manning announced he's committed to Texas. Leaves door open for potential Big 12 game against BYU. (Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
(Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – The nation’s number one recruit in the 2023 recruiting class, Arch Manning, has made a decision. Manning, the nephew to quarterback legends Peyton Manning and Eli Manning, will play for the Texas Longhorns.
Committed to the University of Texas. #HookEm pic.twitter.com/jHYbjBaF5K
— Arch Manning (@ArchManning) June 23, 2022
Since becoming a heralded recruit in 2019, Manning wanted to maintain an “old school” approach to his recruitment. He kept it simple with his announcement by sending out his first tweet with a simple, “Committed to the University of Texas. #HookEm”
That’s it.
The 6-foot-4, 215-pound signal-caller will join a Longhorns program led by Steve Sarkisian, who once played at BYU from 1995 to 1996. Sark had an emphatic “All Gas, No Brakes” reaction on Twitter following Arch Manning’s announcement.
Texas led by Arch Manning versus BYU?
What’s interesting about Manning’s commitment to Texas is that there’s a possibility BYU could face the five-star prospect. Texas is a member of the Big 12 Conference through June 30, 2025.
If the Horns stick to that, it would mean two football seasons of BYU being in the same league with a bell cow brand, potentially led by the next great Manning QB.
There will be competition in front of Manning to win the QB1 spot in Austin. Most notably, 2021 No. 1 QB recruit Quinn Ewers.
BYU would probably love nothing more than a chance to face any QB from Texas. But a conference tilt against Texas led by a Manning in Provo possibly? That’s spicy.
Timeline for Texas in the Big 12
Could Texas leave the conference? Absolutely. No one is going on the record of how that would be possible, though. Everyone from Texas, the SEC, and ESPN TV executives are saying all the right things from a legal perspective. Saying the canned lines that the Horns will be in the Big 12 till 2025.
Brian Davis from Austin American Statesman reported two weeks ago that 2024 is a more realistic target date for Texas and Oklahoma to leave for the SEC.
The 2024 date would make sense as it coincides with when ESPN will take over the exclusive SEC contract.
Time is potentially running out for a 2023 move. The SEC hasn’t agreed on the scheduling format for the 16-team league when the Horns and Sooners join. Last year, the SEC released its 2022 football schedule in September. With all the historic rivalries in that league, figuring out the schedule structure is tricky.
The Big 12 Conference is targeting an October release of its 2023 schedule, according to Commissioner Bob Bowlsby.
Regardless of what league they are in, Arch Manning will keep Texas in many headlines around the college football world.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.
