Ex-LSU coach makes bold Arch Manning comparison ahead of Texas’ 1st game of 2025

Joe Burrow completed one of the greatest college football seasons of all time when he set the single-season record for touchdown passes (60) on his way to a national championship in 2019.

Former Western Kentucky quarterback Bailey Zappe eventually broke the record when he threw 62 touchdown passes in 2021. But Burrow’s national championship season at LSU is something that appeared to have stuck with his former head coach Ed Orgeron.

As the sports world prepared for the upcoming college football season, Orgeron said he sees a bit of Burrow in Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning.

“I had an opportunity to go to Texas and speak at their clinic,” he said on Barstool Sports’ “Pardon My Take.” “And I watched practice. Now, we knew Arch Manning as a young kid from Louisiana. He liked Joe Brady. We watched him (as a recruit). But I watched his practice (at Texas). 

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“And I’ll say this conservatively – and we recruited (current LSU quarterback) Garrett (Nussmeier) – Garrett’s a great player…. but Arch is as close to – or maybe as good as – Joe (Burrow) as I’ve seen. And I’ve never said that about anybody.”

Manning will have the eyes of the college football world and the NFL world watching him closely. He will get his first major test on Aug. 30, when the Longhorns play the defending national champion Ohio State Buckeyes. Not to mention, Texas was ranked No. 1 in the preseason Associated Press top 25 college football poll.

“I’m not really sure how they got these opinions because I’ve only played in, what? Two games?” Manning said recently. “I guess it’s nice of them to say, but it doesn’t mean anything. Talk is cheap, I’ve got to go prove it.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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