"He knows what he signed up for": CFB analyst heaps praise on Arch Manning for handling the enormous hype around him

The Arch Manning mania started the moment he committed to Steve Sarkisian's Texas Longhorns two years ago and is now at an all-time high as he takes over for Quinn Ewers.

Manning leads the 2025 Heisman Trophy odds, with various analysts and fans comparing him to Florida Gators icon Tim Tebow.

With all the hype comes the added responsibility of meeting everybody's expectations and possibly leading the Longhorns to a national championship.

On Tuesday's episode of On3's "The Hard Count with J.D. PicKell," CFB analyst J.D. PicKell weighed in on the Arch Manning hype.

"The bar has been set for him since he could hold a football at Peyton Manning level, Eli Manning level," PicKell said. "The hype for him has been there his entire life. ... He knows what he signed up for by playing quarterback like he always understood.

"You don't think he's ever shown up to a high school dance, a basketball practice, a rec league football game, and there's not been someone whispering and pointing and saying, 'Hey, that's, that's Peyton Manning's nephew.' He's used to this. So, while the hype is enormous, and I don't think the hype is altogether that misplaced, I think the guy's built for him." (28:40)

Steve Sarkisian opens up about Arch Manning's recruitment process

On Thursday's episode of the "Up and Adams" show, Steve Sarkisian opened up about what it was like recruiting a member from one of the most iconic families in the football world.

Sarkisian shared that the whole process was normal compared to recruiting QBs.

"You know, with Arch, I would say this," Sarkisian said. "First of all with the recruiting process, it was the most normal recruiting process. I've recruited a lot of QBs and had some great ones and they can be difficult. With Arch, it was so normal. Great family. Great home life. ...

The Longhorns coach further talked about how Manning asked the right questions and shared that the thing he loves the most about him is his connection with his teammates.