Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning is set to begin the 2024 college football season as the backup to Quinn Ewers. More than likely, fans will have to wait until next season to see him in action.

Despite being a backup quarterback, Manning is one of the most popular names across the nation.

A lot of his popularity comes from him being the nephew of former NFL superstars Peyton and Eli Manning. However, he has also shown massive potential for the future.

Many fans are curious about just how much the young Manning works with his uncles. Peyton Manning, especially, is viewed as one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play football.

In a recent quote during the Manning Pass Academy, Peyton opened up about his relationship with Arch.

“I’m well-documented on how proud we are of Arch. I try to be a resource to him. He and I worked out several weeks ago together.”

Clearly, Peyton has been a key mentor for the young quarterback. While he has been a mentor and a resource, he doesn’t seem to be taking a very active role in Arch’s development.

At this point in time, no one knows exactly what to expect from Manning’s future. Until he’s on the field and playing, no one knows if he will live up to the hype.

Even though he hasn’t played much as a college football player, he has found plenty of success.

His success has come off-the-field, in the form of the NIL market.

Right now, Manning ranks No. 3 among all NIL athletes. The only two athletes ahead of him are Shedeur Sanders and Livvy Dunne.

Currently, the young quarterback has received an NIL valuation of $2.8 million. That is an insane number for a player who has only thrown five passes as a college quarterback.

All of that being said, Manning is staying ready for an opportunity to play. He knows it likely won’t be this season, but he’s one injury or a slow start from Quinn Ewers away from possibly seeing playing time.

Expect to see the young quarterback continue racking up impressive NIL money. He has stayed the course and has handled his situation perfectly. A bright future awaits him with the Longhorns when his number is finally called.

Will the Texas offense just reload?

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BALTIMORE — A philosophical question: If a closer doesn’t hit 100 mph, can he still get noticed? You know, kind of like a tree falling in the woods. If nobody sees it, did it actually happen?

We may get an answer to that question in the next week when All-Star rosters are revealed. Rangers closer Kirby Yates has seemingly done everything necessary to make the AL All-Star team, other than light up a radar gun.

As players wrap up their voting for the All-Star pitching staffs this weekend, choosing three relievers, it’s hard to make a convincing case against Yates reaching the medal stand. Unless, of course, you factor in his fastball. It doesn’t light up Statcast metrics. It’s only good for getting him ahead in counts and setting up his devastating forkball. Among qualified relievers, Yates’ 93.1 mph average fastball ranks only 60th in the AL. The guys getting all the national buzz are Oakland’s Mason Miller and his 100.8 mph fastball and AL saves leader Emmanuel Clase with his 99.8 mph heater.

“I know I don’t have a fastball that lights up the radar guns,” Yates said. “But the league is filled with stuff and guys who are throwers. Guys who pitch are the outliers. But if you pitch and execute your pitches, you can be successful. I don’t think that will ever go away.”

He has pitched exceptionally well. There is not a performance-based stat in which he is weak. He began Saturday perfect in his 11 save chances this year, the only AL reliever with at least 10 opportunities and no blown saves. His ERA (0.99) was second. His batting average allowed (.134) was second. He had a WHIP below 1.00 (0.95).

Put this another way. He is the only pitcher in baseball — regardless of league — to begin the statistical second-half of the season perfect on at least 10 save chances, with a WHIP and ERA both below 1.00. There is more. He’s averaging 12.07 strikeouts per nine innings thanks to a filthy splitter and hasn’t allowed a homer.

The closest comp to Yates from a year ago was Minnesota’s Jhoan Duran, who ended June with 11 saves in 13 chances, a 1.91 ERA and a 0.94 ERA. Perhaps, it’s not best to bring this up. Duran still didn’t make the All-Star team. There were six relievers either selected or named as replacements. It included each of the top five in saves and Baltimore’s Yennier Cano, who had a 1.14 ERA and 0.86 WHIP entering July. Moral of the story: Yates’ relatively low number of saves may work against him.

If other players rely on a singular number such as saves or WAR, Yates may get overlooked. He is tied for 11th in the AL in saves and is eighth in WAR among AL relievers at 1.0, though only three-tenths of a win separates him from the No. 2 spot, which belongs to Clase.

On the other hand, if AL manager Bruce Bochy has any input, Yates will get a firm endorsement. That doesn’t carry the weight it once did. Once upon a time, the manager had a big hand in selecting the pitching staff. Now, it’s almost entirely reliant on peer votes. Bochy said this week that he would heartily endorse Yates as a reliever.

So, too, will David Robertson, the AL’s senior reliever at age 39. Robertson was an All-Star in 2010 as a setup man with the New York Yankees.

“His case is great,” said Robertson, who has a pretty solid case of his own. “His WHIP is good. His strikeouts are high. If you aren’t giving up walks and hits and you are striking out guys, what else are you supposed to do? I hope he goes.”

Yates admits it, he’d like to. He’s been an All-Star before and was even named the NL’s closer in 2019. Only problem: NL didn’t have a lead. He didn’t pitch. Since then: He missed most of three seasons with elbow issues and eventually surgery.

“I think making the team would validate a lot of things,” Yates said. “I’d love a chance to pitch, but the fact that I was named the closer that year was a real sign of respect and I appreciated that. In a perfect world, you’d get a chance to do both.”

And if everybody sees it, well, then it definitely happened.

Twitter: @Evan_P_Grant

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