Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning doesn't inspire any confidence in Jordan Rogers.
Aaron Rodgers' brother believes the Manning legacy's hype isn't matched by No. 16's production -- and predicted a rough outing Week 1 against the Ohio State Buckeyes at the "Shoe."
“For a young quarterback, Arch excelled at re-identifying the defense, diagnosing it, and delivering the ball downfield with accuracy. I thought that was an area where he really stood out. But I’ll say this — and I don’t know what you guys talked about when I was off-air — the hype doesn’t match the tape. There are good things, but the tape doesn’t scream first-round draft pick, top-10 pick, No. 1 overall, or Heisman hopeful," Rodgers said.
“I think when he goes into Ohio State, he’s going to struggle because he hasn’t played. The last time we saw him against a really good defense was Georgia, and he looked out of place. He looked really good against UTSA, Louisiana-Monroe, and Mississippi State — which was the worst defense in the SEC. There’s still a lot of growth needed and a lot we need to see.”
Former Ohio State head football coach Urban Meyer feels the same way about Manning. And the Buckeyes, a program coached by the offensive coordinator he brought to Columbus.
“A player with that name and that background and the expectations put on him, he’s going to have to play great,” Meyer said on “The Triple Option” podcast. “And he’s picking a tough team to play great at, in a tough environment.
“If he struggles, mark this down, there’s gonna be a lot of pressure on that player, unfair pressure. Because he is a hell of a player. Is he going to win the Heisman? I mean, those are big, big questions asked.”
Manning chose Austin, Texas, to bear less of a burden on big-time losses like a Week 1 pitfall in Columbus, Ohio, will be. In many ways, his college decision was not to face the music that's about to be blasted against the defending champion Buckeyes.