Texas quarterback Arch Manning had a tough start to the 2025 college football season The Longhorns fell 14-7 to the Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday in Columbus, and Manning struggled to make an impact, completing 17 of 30 passes for 170 yards with one touchdown pass and one interception. It was a big-stage game and a chance to make a national statement, but things didn’t go as hoped.
While the Texas signal caller had a lot of buzz surrounding him heading into this season, former NFL star Shannon Sharpe didn’t go after the player, but those who were pumping up the hype, such as labeling him a generational player or the future No. 1 overall pick in next year’s NFL Draft.
MORE: Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer Slammed by Skip Bayless After Florida State Loss
“We’ve got to start with this generational stuff,” Sharpe said on “Nightcap.” “Everybody is not generational. Do you understand what a generation is? Do you understand what transcendent means? Do you know what transformative means?
“We just be using stuff because it sounds good. Stop saying that. He’s not. He might be that. But if you look at Arch Manning and you say he’s transformative, he’s generational, you’re lying. He’s not.”
Although Sharpe is coming on hard, he does state that Manning could be a generational player since it’s only Week 1. However, the Texas signal-caller has a lot of work to do as he cannot afford to look average at best in these big-time games that will come in SEC play.
MORE: Former Texas Longhorns Star Pins Ohio State Loss on Steve Sarkisian
“[Ohio State] shut down the run, and then it’s like, Okay, [Manning] go win the game,” Sharpe added. “[What] happen is that when the [Quinn] Ewers [was] hurt last year, and he’s playing substandard teams, and he looked really good. Well, they should go to Arch.
“But when you step up at Ohio State, and you face the Alabama’s, that’s not good enough. And he’s going to have to be much better, because if you look at him and hits starts, and when he’s played, he had to step up in competition, if you can look at him and say, ‘Well, he’s generational.’ We’ve got different definitions of what generational is.”
For more on college football, head to Newsweek Sports.
The post Shannon Sharpe Unleashes Fiery Take on Texas QB Arch Manning Hype appeared first on Newsweek.
