Arch Manning visits Texas, gets pitches from former Longhorns QBs Colt McCoy, Sam Ehlinger

By all outward appearances, five-star quarterback Arch Manning’s recruiting visit to Texas last weekend couldn’t have gone any better.

What happened, exactly? Texas exes Colt McCoy and Sam Ehlinger both made pitches, as did coach Steve Sarkisian and his assistants. Otherwise, good luck getting specifics from a family that’s kept almost all aspects of Manning’s recruitment under wraps.

Manning, out of Louisiana, is the nation’s No. 1 recruit in the class of 2023 and is believed to have whittled his list down to six schools — Alabama, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss and Texas. 

Steve Wiltfong, the national director of recruiting for 247Sports, said in early March that Manning’s recruitment is likely to extend into the late spring and summer. Every school is working on the Manning family’s timetable, not the other way around.

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Manning — the nephew of former longtime NFL starting quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning — now has a verified Twitter profile under the username @ArchManning. His bio reads "High school student." He has yet to tweet anything. Don’t expect anything official to come from anywhere but the family or Manning himself.

"When you recruit high-level players, we can’t get impatient because we don’t have guys just committing left and right," Sarkisian said after Tuesday’s practice. "We could get guys to commit, but they might not be the right guys for our program. 

"So, we’re recruiting hard," he continued. "I think our staff is doing a great job. Obviously, we had a bunch of guys in last week. We’ll have more in this weekend. And we’ve got to make sure that we keep doing a really good job of selling our program and our university, the city of Austin and all the great things that we have to offer — our staff, our team, our culture."

Sarkisian has never wavered in his belief that recruiting is all about relationships. By NCAA rule, he is not allowed to talk specifically about individual recruits. He can talk only in generalities. 

"Over time, if we do it the right way, we’ll end up signing a great class," Sarkisian said. "You know, we’re in the very early stages of what we’re doing, but I think we’re doing it the right way, and we’re progressing at the right kind of level."

Texas, which signed the No. 5 class in 2022, has two players committed so far for the class of 2023 — Arlington Seguin safety Jamel Johnson and Houston King defensive lineman Dylan Spencer. Manning would be a massive star on any team’s recruiting list and other top players could follow him anywhere.

Last year proved that Sarkisian’s slow-burn recruiting approach works. 

In mid-October, Texas had only two offensive linemen committed for the class of 2022. There was no panic, at least not from the head coach. The Longhorns ended up signing seven linemen, including five-star prospects Kelvin Banks and Devon Campbell. 

Sarkisian once mused he could round up multiple commitments practically overnight, but quickly added "are they a good fit?" 

As of now, Texas has offered a scholarship to only one quarterback, according to the 247Sports recruiting database. The Horns are all-in with Manning. But will Manning go all-in with Texas? 

The first day a 2023 recruit can sign a letter of intent is Dec. 21. No rush.

Follow Brian Davis on Twitter via @BDavisAAS.