Texas sophomore quarterback Arch Manning is set to take the field on Saturday night against the runner-up in his high school recruitment, Georgia.
Manning, who was the consensus top prospect in the country in the 2023 high school recruiting class, chose Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns over Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs. A chance to play for Texas was too much to pass up for the nation’s No.1 recruit.
Despite missing out on Manning, Smart had plenty of good things to say about the second-year signal caller ahead of the primetime Saturday night matchup this week.
“I got to know him, our staff got to know him,” Smart said. “He came over here a lot. He was very honest and had his thoughts about both programs. He liked both programs. He had to pick one.”
Unfortunately for Smart and the Bulldogs, the decision for Manning was Texas. Manning, who struggled in the first half of the year in his first season as the full-time starter, is beginning to play some of the best football of his career.
In his last two games against Mississippi State and Vanderbilt, Manning has completed 54 of his 79 passing attempts for 647 yards and six touchdowns to only one interception. He’s finally beginning to live up to the billing put forth by all of the hype around his high school recruitment.
Now Manning and the Longhorns are trying to backdoor their way into SEC title contention in the homestretch, or at the very least, make a case for an at-large spot in the College Football Playoff.
But how has Georgia fared at quarterback since missing out on Manning in the 2023 class? Let’s review.
Even if Manning had picked Georgia, it’s unlikely he would have seen the field much in his first two seasons in Athens. Manning’s freshman season at Texas saw him sit behind veteran incumbent Quinn Ewers. If he had committed to Georgia, it would have been much of the same behind veteran Carson Beck.
In 2023, Georgia went to the SEC championship, losing to Alabama and ultimately losing out on a trip to the College Football Playoff. The team was led by Beck and also had former five-star recruit Brock Vandagriff on the roster. He would later transfer to Kentucky. The 2024 Bulldogs went 11–3, and lost in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Sugar Bowl to Notre Dame. Beck was the starter throughout the regular season for the Bulldogs, where he completed 290 of his 448 passing attempts for 3,485 yards and 28 touchdowns to 12 interceptions. Beck suffered a season-ending elbow injury in the 2024 SEC championship game against the Ewers-led Longhorns, forcing sophomore Gunner Stockton into the action.
Stockton finished the SEC title game, which ended in a 22–19 Georgia win, and went on to start in the CFP quarterfinal against Notre Dame. If things had played out similarly, but with Manning as the backup instead of Stockton at Georgia, there’s a chance that Manning would have made his first career start in the College Football Playoff.
Fast-forward to the 2025 season, and it’s Stockton who is starting for the Bulldogs. Beck, who was weighing a jump to the NFL, decided to return to college to prove that his elbow was healthy. He transferred to Miami, where he’s had a strong senior season. Back at Georgia, Stockton has performed well in his first year as the starter. In nine games, he has completed 69.4% of his passes for 2,040 yards and 15 touchdowns to two interceptions. He has also rushed the ball for 321 yards and seven more scores on the ground.
Stockton is the only upper classman quarterback on the roster this season. He’s backed up by redshirt freshman Ryan Puglisi, a former four-star recruit from Massachusetts, and a pair of true freshmen, Ryan Montgomery and Hezekiah Millender.
Due in part to Stockton’s strong play, Georgia is 8–1 and in the thick of the SEC title hunt.
Saturday’s game represents the biggest start of Manning’s career, as the 7–2 Longhorns, ranked 10th in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, look to keep their hopes alive for the playoff.
Georgia, meanwhile, will look to keep pace in the SEC title hunt as they continue to chase No. 4 Alabama and No. 3 Texas A&M.
Saturday’s game is a matchup of what is vs. what could have been. Smart and Georgia will look to gain the upper hand once again in a matchup of last season’s SEC championship. But this time, it will be with Manning as a starter for the Longhorns.
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