Alabama Quarterback Targets: From Arch Manning to Marcel Reed

The Alabama Crimson Tide have their sights set on a group of six quarterback targets. Either offered during their sophomore seasons or this summer, only four of the six Alabama quarterback targets remain on the board.

Nick Saban landed No. 3-ranked Ty Simpson for 2022 and is likely to nab another top-10 prospect at the position for 2023.

Eli Holstein of Zachary, Louisiana, ranked the 10th best quarterback prospect in the nation, pulled the trigger on his long-standing Texas A&M offer this summer and five-star Malachi Nelson committed to Oklahoma, but Arch Manning, Dylan Lonergan, Nico Iamaleava and Marcel Reed are still top targets.

No. 1 Arch Manning

There’s perhaps no bigger prize in the 2023 class than 5-star Arch Manning. The Louisiana native is a part of one of the greatest football families of all time, but he’s also got the talent to back it up.

Manning’s arm strength pleasantly surprised at Clemson’s quarterback camp, according to On3 analyst Charles Power, and at 6-foot-4 and almost 210 pounds, he’s already physically developed.

Nephew of Eli and Peyton Manning, grandson of Archie, Arch has reported 12 offers so far. Despite his legacy status at Ole Miss, Manning did camps at Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, LSU, SMU and Texas in June. He did end his summer with a visit to see the Rebels in July.

Manning is going for a state title this year at Isidore Newman High School. He threw for 1,922 yards with 21 touchdown passes and seven interceptions on 67% completions as a sophomore.

No. 4 Dylan Lonergan

The No. 2-ranked prospect in Georgia’s 2023 class, Dylan Lonergan joined the Alabama quarterback offer list in April.

Lonergan visited UNC, calling it his “dream school,” as well as Alabama, Ohio State, Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi State and Georgia Tech in June.

Standing at 6-foot-1, 195-pounds, the 4-star threw for 2,249 yards with 65% completions, 20 touchdowns and six picks this season. On top of that, he added 304 yards and five scores rushing.

The son of former Penn State quarterback Dan Lonergan, Dylan is a Penn State legacy and also holds an offer from the Nittany Lions. He plans to cut his list down later this summer.

No. 5 Nicholaus Iamaleava

The second California native in Alabama’s quarterback target group is Warren High School 4-star Nicholaus “Nico” Iamaleava. The 6-foot-5 QB came to Alabama’s camp on June 7 and left with an offer in hand from the Tide.

After his visit to the Capstone, Iamaleava talked to 247Sports about his impression of Nick Saban:

“He’s probably the most intimidating small guy I’ve ever seen. During the camp, I would look over at him and he has the look on his face, real intense, same one you see on TV all the time. 

“In his office, it was way different, he was super cool and easy to talk with.”

Iamaleava racked up miles in June to help him sort out some early leaders. He also visited Georgia, Clemson, USC, UCLA and Ohio State. Every program he visited has offered so far, except for Clemson.

No. 7 Marcel Reed

Son of long-time college football coach Rod Reed, Marcel Reed added his Alabama offer on Dec. 15, 2020. Just five hours later, the 4-star quarterback reported he’d also been offered by the home state Tennessee Volunteers.

Reed kicked off his month of June with a camp in Knoxville, followed by trips to Georgia, Texas A&M, Indiana, Louisville and Florida.

As a sophomore for Montgomery Bell Academy, the 6-foot-1, 180-pound quarterback threw for 1,565 yards and 15 touchdowns in seven games played.