Arch Manning's HS coach says 5-star QB has remarkable football IQ, recall

In the early 1990s, Nelson Stewart played with future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning and his brother Cooper Manning for New Orleans Isidore Newman. Now three decades later, Stewart is back on the New Orleans Isidore Newman sidelines next to another member of the Manning family: 2023 No. 1 overall recruit Arch Manning.

Stewart is in his 16th season as the head coach of New Orleans Isidore Newman, and Arch Manning is the first son of a former teammate he has coached.

To say he’s enjoying the experience is an understatement.

During an episode last week of the “Pros Like Us” podcast hosted by Alex Khvatov and Lou Montagna, Stewart said Arch Manning’s recall is second-to-none.

“I think that of any quarterback I’ve coached, he has probably wanted more mentally, wanted more from a X-and-O standpoint, from a meetings standpoint than any player I’ve had and coached before,” Stewart said.

The hosts interview Stewart for the first 30 minutes of the show, and is well worth a listen if you have the time. In addition to talking about Arch Manning, Stewart talks about his coaching philosophy, growing up and attending New Orleans Isidore Newman and what it was like to coach Odell Beckham Jr. in high school.

But most of the conversation revolved around Arch Manning, the most hyped prospect in America. Here are the five takeaways from the podcast.

Arch Manning likes dissecting football

Like his uncles, Arch Manning is a football junkie who loves to learn about football. He is such a quick and devoted learner that the team can switch concepts each week because they know Manning will be able to understand and implement the plan.

“He sees things so much faster (than he did last season),” Stewart said. “Sometimes it’s almost so fast, we got to remind our receivers to get their head around because he gets it out so quickly.”

But that love of football also plays a part in his recruiting. Stewart says Manning loves to talk about schematics and concepts with coaches.

“Steve Sarkisian has been phenomenal, just on zooms, talking football, installs what they’re doing,” Stewart said. “He’s done that with Kirby Smart, Lane Kiffin and all those guys who’ve reached out.”

When asked by the hosts about the most notable or unusual things coaches have done trying to recruit with Manning, Stewart recalled one coach sending Manning scripted plays.

“There’s been a nameless coach that sent him the 20 openers that day for a game,” Stewart said. “I thought that was interesting.”

Stewart includes Manning in his game preparation

Stewart said the most fun part of coaching Arch Manning is game planning.

Manning wants to be involved in game planning. It is not an ego thing, Stewart emphasizes, but rather due to his desire to master the concepts each week and be ready to come out firing on Friday nights.

“By Wednesday, he actually helps me script the beginning of the game,” Stewart said. “That’s a rarity but but I think that that’s what’s fun. He’s able to get a feel for what he likes, what works and we do the same thing at halftime for the openers. I have so much trust in him.”

So many coaches were using Stewart phone for FaceTime that he had to upgrade his iPhone

College coaches have only been allowed to start texting and emailing Arch Manning since Sept. 1 of this year due to NCAA rules. Before that coaches would have to go through Stewart and use his phone to set up times to talk with Manning over the phone.

At one point, Stewart had an older version of the iPhone, which made FaceTiming with coaches difficult for Manning.

“They could FaceTime him but my FaceTime wasn’t any good so he’d be walking around campus talking to Jake Peetz and all these guys,” Stewart said. “So I went ahead and splurged for a new iPhone so he could sit in the office and actually talk to them.”

Arch Manning is a “quarterback who likes to bench press”

Stewart says Manning likes working out in the weight room and doing agility training, which is not always the case for quarterbacks.

Manning added 30 pounds to his weight during the pandemic due to spending extra time in the weight room. And that dedication does not get lost on his teammates.

Stewart said when the school brought in a new strength coach, Manning immediately got close to him because he wanted to learn more.

“He can bench almost 250 pounds,” Steward said. “His speed is is outstanding. He’s either the fastest or second fastest kid on the team. He’s a legit 4.6. He’s a kid that went out for track midway through the year, and I think he won district in the high jump and he ran the anchor on the four-by-one.”

Arch Manning is a great teammate

Stewart had nothing but nice things to say about Arch Manning and continuously praised his character and his commitment to the team.

“He is about the wins, the losses and being a good teammate,” Stewart said. “That’s just how he is character wise. I know I wasn’t that way — and most kids aren’t.”

His teammates voted Manning a captain as a junior, which Stewart can remember happening only three other times.

“This is a kid that is beloved at our school and by our team for good reason,” Stewart added.