Arch Manning’s season at Texas has taken a sharp turn, and that has opened the door to a different kind of offseason conversation: what happens if he decides to leave?
The Longhorns were supposed to be cruising through a dream year, but instead they had two losses before the end of October and Manning has struggled to find his best form. After Texas’ loss to Florida, head coach Steve Sarkisian said he was going to give an uptick to Manning’s backup, KJ Lacey. A benching still does not look likely, but it is at least something that can’t be dismissed entirely.
Because of the way this season has gone, there is now speculation that Manning could pass on the 2027 NFL Draft and spend another year in college. If that happens, the expectation is that he would stay at Texas. But if he were to enter the transfer portal, a few programs stand out more than the rest.
LSU is an obvious name because of Manning’s background. He played high school football for four seasons in Louisiana at Isidore Newman in New Orleans, and his school is just 82 miles southeast of Baton Rouge.
Manning was also born and grew up in Louisiana, which makes a return to the state an easy place to picture. If development is the selling point, LSU head coach Lane Kiffin has a strong case to make.
He helped turn Jaxson Dart into a first-round NFL Draft pick and also helped identify Trinidad Chambliss from DII Ferris State, who is expected to be a top signal-caller picked for 2027. Sam Leavitt has not played great this season, and Kiffin apparently had several other quarterback options before him.
“What better way to start fresh for Manning than to return to his roots and play under an offensive mind like Kiffin?”
Georgia belongs on the list too, even if it would be a different kind of fit. Kirby Smart has generally preferred quarterbacks he recruited and developed in Athens, and Georgia was one of the three finalists for Manning coming out of high school.
Still, Smart has not ignored the portal at the position. He brought in Oregon transfer Bryson Beaver this year and added Jaden Rashada in 2024 as backups to Gunner Stockton.
Stockton is a fifth-year senior, and backup Ryan Puglisi has completed 36 passes for 413 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions over his last two seasons. Manning would bring real game experience to a room that could use it, even if that is not the most traditional path for Smart.
Ole Miss offers a different kind of pitch. Pete Golding already stopped Trinidad Chambliss from following Kiffin to LSU, and Manning could give him another chance to win that battle.
Chambliss is headed to the NFL after this season, which would leave room in Oxford. There is also the family angle: Manning would be going to the school where his grandfather Archie and uncle Eli played.
That is the sort of detail that matters in recruiting. Deuce Knight, who transferred in from Auburn this offseason, would be the main competition for the job, but Manning’s experience could give him a leg up.
Oregon also makes sense if the quarterback room stays unsettled. Dan Lanning has had an unexpectedly rough year at the position.
Dante Moore is expected to miss a second straight game after leaving the Oct. 10 matchup against UCLA with a concussion. Oregon has bounced between Dylan Raiola and Brock Thomas in his absence, and neither has seized the job.
Lanning has not named a starter yet for the Illinois game this week, though Raiola appears to have the edge. Moore is expected to head to the NFL in 2027, and Raiola is a junior this season, so the depth chart beyond that is wide open.
The Ducks are not close to home for Manning, but Lanning has already shown he can work the portal at quarterback, with Moore coming from UCLA and Dillon Gabriel arriving from Oklahoma in 2024.
Indiana and Miami are a little different. On paper, both schools could fit if Manning plays much better.
Miami has landed Cam Ward and Carson Beck, while Indiana has added Fernando Mendoza and Josh Hoover. But Manning would need to show far more consistency before either program gets serious.
Beck and Hoover both put together multiple seasons over 3,000 passing yards, while Mendoza threw for 4,712 yards and 30 touchdowns across two years at Cal. Manning’s numbers are similar in some ways, but his body of work still does not match what those schools have usually targeted.
He has 20 turnovers across two seasons and has not played well in five losses to Ohio State, Florida and Georgia last season and against Oklahoma and Florida this year. For now, Indiana and Miami look like longer shots unless the back half of his season changes the picture.
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