CFB analyst draws bold comparisons between Texas' Arch Manning and Gators legend Tim Tebow

With Steve Sarkisian expected to announce Arch Manning as the Texas Longhorns' starter, the hype around him has reminded some of a situation they've seen before.

From 2006 to 2009, Florida Gators icon Tim Tebow's hype knew no bounds, and even today, he is considered one of the best college football players of all time. He won two BCS national championship titles, one in 2006 and another in 2008.

The media and the fans are equally hyped about Arch Manning, who even tops the 2025 Heisman Trophy odds after starting just two games last season.

Talking about the similarity between the two, On3 analyst J.D. PicKell shared his thoughts on the situation on Tuesday.

"Do you think that Arch Manning is going to be as good as advertised? Spoiler: if Arch Manning is as good as advertised, he is Tim Tebow," PicKell said (27:30). "The comparisons are pretty obvious: both were the No. 1 player in their class, both short yardage packages early in their career, and both had ridiculous hype before even getting the job.

"The thing with Tebow mania is, even when he was getting reps at Florida, and he had the goal line package and stuff like that, he did that while Florida won a national title. Like the expectation for Manning and why, I think the Manning hype actually will be even greater than Tim Tebow's hype and his era; that was what it was in college football."

CFB insider offers insight on Arch Manning's NFL plans

When Steve Sarkisian recruited Manning as a five-star quarterback, the plan was for him to sit on the bench for a year and then take over the team when Quinn Ewers went to the NFL.

However, Ewers decided to return for the 2024 college football season, which meant another year of waiting for Manning and even sparked numerous transfer portal rumors.

Now that Ewers has declared for the 2025 NFL draft and Manning is officially the QB1, fans are curious whether he will be the Longhorns starter for just one year or return for another year to college.

College football insider Anwar Richardson recently revealed that the Manning family is not in a hurry to make Arch an NFL player and wants him to enjoy his time at Texas.

"They want him to enjoy his time at Texas because being a quarterback in the NFL is a job. There is no quarterback family on this planet that understands how stressful being a pro quarterback is more than the Mannings," Richardson wrote.

Arch Manning and Texas will open their 2025 season against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 30.