Georgia coach Kirby Smart recognizes the version of Arch Manning performing at a high level since critics gathered with doubts that the first-time starter was destined to carry on the All-Pro family lineage.
“He has made lots of wow throws,” Smart said of Texas’ redshirt sophomore quarterback, a player Georgia went after hard on the recruiting trail more than three years ago as pundits drew parallels to uncles Peyton Manning and Eli Manning.
“It really wasn’t about the celebrity nature or the last name. It was about the tape,” Smart said. “Have a good relationship with his family.
“His recruitment was based on he’s athletic, he’s fast, he’s tall, he’s intelligent. He’s got composure. He can do it all. Even the way he’s managed the hype and expectations … it doesn’t seem to have affected him. He knows he has to grow and get better.”
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian turned the offense over to Manning this year following two seasons as a backup to Quinn Ewers.
Sarkisian will be out to break a poor record against teams ranked in the top 10 when the Longhorns follow Manning to Athens on Saturday. Sarkisian is 2-11 at Texas against opponents in the top 10 of the AP poll including two losses to Georgia in 2024.
“Since we lost to Florida, the first bullet point when I talk to the team about what it takes is, this is an SEC Championship game. That (mindset) went back now for the last month,” Sarkisian said. “This week’s not different.”
Manning has wins over No. 9 Vanderbilt (34-31 on Nov. 1) and No. 6 Oklahoma (23-6 on Oct. 11) this season. He has seven touchdowns and one interception since completing 21-of-27 passes against the Sooners and has averaged 337 passing yards the past two games.
On the other side, Georgia junior Gunner Stockton has 15 touchdowns, two interceptions and wins over No. 5 Ole Miss and No. 15 Tennessee with one loss in September against Alabama.
In a retrospective glance back on Monday at recruiting Texas’ current quarterback, Smart said there was no “sales pitch” from Georgia, which leaned on a relationship with members of the Manning family and built a strong rapport.
“He came over here a lot,” Smart said. “He was very honest. Had his thoughts about both programs. He liked both programs. He had to pick one.”
Smart is happy to have Stockton under center.
“He’s brought consistency. He’s made good decisions with the ball in terms of keeping us out of bad situations,” Smart said. “He’s avoided quite a bit of sacks. He’s avoided catastrophic turnovers. He’s improved throughout the season. He continues to do that. He’s going to make us very hard to defend when he plays well.”
The winner of Saturday’s game stays on solid footing for the College Football Playoff even with nine SEC teams packed in the Top 25.
