'Hard to Watch': The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Arch Manning's 2025 Debut

There is no point in sugarcoating things. After an offseason full of Heisman and NFL Draft hype, Texas quarterback Arch Manning stumbled in his 2025 debut, a 14-7 road loss Saturday to Ohio State.

Representatives from 22 NFL teams attended the season-opening showdown between top-ranked Texas and No. 3 Ohio State, and a few of the 33 scouts there agreed to share their unfiltered thoughts with FOX Sports following the game.

One need not be a pro scout to tell you that Manning’s final stat line looks better on paper than it did during the game itself. Officially, he completed 17 of 30 passes for 170 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He also ran 10 times for 39 yards. The interception was a deep throw to the sideline that he stared down, allowing the defender plenty of time to undercut the route.

Frankly, Manning was even less accurate than these pedestrian numbers suggest, skipping passes at the feet of would-be receivers on multiple occasions — including on his first attempt of the game.

However, even as early-game jitters subsided, Manning made relatively simple tosses look difficult, failing to step into his throws and instead whipping sidearm fastballs that made corralling them unnecessarily tough on his receivers.

Manning was officially intercepted once but had a second pick overturned on replay. His lone touchdown pass and 134 of his 170 total passing yards came in the fourth quarter, after the defending champion Buckeyes had staked a 14-0 lead.

It was a far cry from the 67.8% completion rate and a 9:2 TD-INT ratio Manning enjoyed a year ago, when he guided the Longhorns to 51-3 and 35-13 home victories against Louisiana-Monroe and Mississippi State, respectively, while then-starter Quinn Ewers was injured. Or from the consensus opinion that he's the best QB prospect in college football and the player most likely to be selected No. 1 in the 2026 draft.

"Honestly, it was a little hard to watch," one longtime NFC scout told me. "He’s just been hyped up so much. Almost no matter what he did, he couldn’t have met those expectations. But I will admit that I thought he’d be better than he was."

Clearly, much of his (and our own expectations) for Manning stem from his record-setting uncles and grandfather. The scout cautioned that sometimes too much emphasis is placed on bloodlines, especially by media.

"If Shedeur [Sanders] last year didn’t prove it to y’all that the league cares more about the tape than the pedigree, I don’t know what to tell you."

Another scout — this one for an AFC club potentially in search of a QB in the 2026 draft — was quick to acknowledge the hostile environment Saturday and Ohio State’s talent on the field, as well as the sideline.

"Tough environment to play your first game [as QB1]. And to give [new Ohio State defensive coordinator Matt] Patricia all summer long to prepare? It was like giving a Calculus test to a kindergartner. That was the toughest test [Manning will] face probably all year long."

It is important to acknowledge Manning’s inexperience and the degree of difficulty he faced against the Buckeyes. Saturday was the first road game of Manning’s college career and just his third start overall. He is 21 years old with two more years of college eligibility remaining.

Further, while Ohio State had eight defenders drafted into the NFL a year ago, the 2025 Buckeyes have reloaded and are once again loaded with talent. Two-time All-American safety Caleb Downs is arguably the best defender in the country and, as just acknowledged, Patricia looked every bit a former NFL head coach and Super Bowl champion playcaller in his Columbus debut.

"Ohio State’s secondary is very good," a scout said. "In a couple years, you’ll see all of them in the league."

And make no mistake, while Manning’s sticky feet and sidearm throws had scouts grumbling, they also acknowledged the flashes. Two throws, in particular, had the scouts excited, starting with a strike in the hole of two-deep coverage to tight end Jack Endries.

"That was a legitimate NFL throw," a scout said. "He read the coverage and threaded the needle. [Patrick] Mahomes doesn’t place that one any better."

The touchdown pass to Parker Livingstone was a pretty toss, as well, with Manning throwing his receiver open again.

Ultimately, scouts cautioned against making too much of Manning’s disappointing season debut. They preached patience and recognized the complexity of Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian’s pro-style offense, which might limit some of Manning’s statistics but better prepare him for the rigors of the NFL than many of the schemes popular in today’s college football landscape.

When reminded of how good other QBs in the 2026 draft class looked this weekend, they scoffed at the idea of draft boards dramatically changing as a result of one game.

"I can’t speak for every scout obviously, but [Saturday’s game] won’t change anything for me," the NFC scout explained. "It’s just too early in the process. We’re still establishing a baseline of who the prospect is. I don’t care whether his last name is Manning, Smith or Jones, he’s got a long way to go."

"He’ll be fine," the AFC scout reassured. "Sark will coach him up. You guys [media] made the mistake of overhyping him based on two games last year. Don’t make the same mistake of doubting him now based on one bad game to start this year."

Rob Rang is an NFL Draft analyst for FOX Sports. He has been covering the NFL Draft for more than 25 years, with work at FOX, Sports Illustrated, CBSSports.com, USA Today, Yahoo, NFL.com and NFLDraftScout.com, among others. He also works as a scout with the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League. Follow him on X @RobRang.

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