Arch Manning opens up on his recruitment

New Orleans (La.) Isidore Newman Five-Star Plus+ quarterback Arch Manning opened spring practice on Monday after an eventful spring, which included visits to Alabama, Georgia and Texas.

Manning, the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Consensus, has no timeline for a decision but is moving closer to figuring out his next steps. He’s likely to see a few more schools this summer, including some official visits, and then re-examine his next move.

“I’m trying to get there,” Manning told On3 of making his decision. “I want to get through this spring with this new offense and new coaches (at Newman), so after spring I’m gonna see about the official visits.”

“It’s kind of getting closer. I don’t really have a point yet, but I guess it’s kind of narrowing stuff down. I’m looking forward to (making a decision) either before the season or during the season or after the season. If I was ready I’d probably commit right now, but I’m not, so I’m just waiting.”

Manning told On3 Texas, Alabama and Georgia are all under consideration, and he’s planning visits to see both LSU and Florida.

On Texas: “Maintaining the relationship with those guys (Steve Sarkisian, AJ Milwee); staying in touch over normal conversations has been good. The visit to Austin, we got to see practice and see what it’s all about. We sat in the quarterback meeting. It was fun to see how they interacted, and I’m excited to see what they can do this year. They got a few transfers from Alabama, and I think that offense can be explosive. Austin is a big city compared to the other two, so it reminds me a little bit of New Orleans. It’s a little weird, and they’ve got good coaches there.”

On Alabama: “Those coaches are all good guys. Alabama is a machine and everyone knows it. They practice hard, and they have dudes all over the place. They got a few good transfers and I’m excited to see that. Alabama has recently been able to have high quarterback play, so that’s been fun to watch and fun to look at in terms of making a decision.”

On Georgia: “I love coach Kirby (Smart), and he’s a real normal guy, a great coach. Georgia, the takeaway from practice there, is that they have athletes all over the field, especially on the defensive line. They have some studs and it shows; they had 15 players drafted. Athens is probably the best college town I’ve ever been to. The coaches are all good people, they know how to win, know what it takes, and it was cool seeing that.”

On Florida: “I’ve had a few conversations with Florida. I’ve heard a lot of good things about Coach (Billy) Napier, so I might want to get check and see what they’re all about.”

On LSU: “Coach (Brian) Kelly knows how to win … He’s won everywhere he goes pretty much. I have a former teammate, Bo (Bordelon), so he’s going up there this summer. I want to check him out, see how he does in practice and I’ll probably go up there for a game.”

Manning is one of three Five-Star Plus+ prospects in the 2023 cycle along with Los Alamitos (Calif.) quarterback Malachi Nelson and Lakeland (Fla.) Lake Gibson cornerback Cormani McClain.

He currently has an On3 NIL Valuation of $3.1 million. The On3 NIL Valuation is an index that looks to set the standard market value for both high school and college-level athletes. The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.

Texas and Georgia are believed to be pulling away from Alabama in the race for Manning, according to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine. The Longhorns have the current lead at 60.1% with the Bulldogs coming up in second with 26.9%. It is then a fairly steep drop off to the Crimson Tide at No. 3 with a 11% chance of landing Manning.