Peyton Manning’s son is already drawing major recruiting attention, even while he’s still working from behind a veteran starter at Baylor School in Chattanooga.
Marshall Manning is 15 and has spent this fall learning the backup role, with his snaps limited because senior quarterback Keegan Croucher - a four-star Ole Miss commit - is ahead of him on the depth chart. Marshall, who transferred from Denver before eighth grade, has also worn No. 16, the same number Peyton wore at Tennessee.
Even with that modest role, the offers have started to roll in. 247Sports lists scholarship offers from No.
4 Miami, No. 5 Ohio State, Purdue and Missouri State.
Marshall has not announced a commitment, and no visit schedule has been made public.
The moment that put him on more recruiting radars came in August against Brentwood Academy, when he made his varsity debut. On his first varsity snap, Marshall completed an eight-yard pass to junior receiver Antwaun Adams for a first down. That was enough to fuel interest, and the clip of that throw has been the one recruiters have circulated.
His earlier debut in an August scrimmage also got attention, with fans comparing the release to his father’s. But at Baylor, nothing has changed on the field: Croucher remains the starter, and Marshall is still waiting for a bigger run of snaps.
The family name keeps the spotlight bright, too. Tennessee, Ole Miss and Texas are still the schools people connect to first, even though none of them is on the current offer list.
Arch Manning was asked about the attention around his cousin this week and kept the tone light. “Marshall’s got a lot of advice,” Arch told People.
“I just wanna be the fun cousin and, you know, talk about anything else. And if he wants advice, I’ll give it to him, but I just wanna be a cousin and friends, and have fun.”
Peyton and Eli are there if Marshall wants a more formal sounding board. For now, though, the next step is simple: more snaps, not a signing day.
In Other News...
Simeon Caldwell Is Giving Ohio States Secondary A New Decision To Make
Simeon Caldwell arrived at Ohio State with the kind of preseason expectations that usually keep a freshman safety in the background, but his early work has pushed him into a more meaningful spot in the Buckeyes secondary. He has seen the field in multiple games already, and his usage has grown as the coaching staff has continued to trust him more in the defensive rotation. The staffs interest in him has only sharpened because he brings versatility to a room that already has plenty of competition.
Caldwells most notable opportunities have come in expanded snaps against Iowa, where he held up well in coverage and showed he can tackle in space. His role has been growing in nickel and dime packages, the kind of subpackages that demand safeties who can handle tight ends and bigger receivers without sacrificing too much on the back end. For Ohio State, that kind of flexibility gives the defense another option to sort through, and it could keep changing how the secondary is deployed from week to week. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Freshmen Suddenly Have A Real Chance To Break Through
Ryan Days latest update on Ohio States young wide receivers gave a clearer picture of where the room stands heading into Maryland. Freshmen Chris Henry Jr. and Brock Boyd have been making progress, and Day said both have shown the kind of confidence that can earn more trust in the passing game. With the Buckeyes still sorting through their receiver rotation, the door is at least a little more open for the first-year players to carve out snaps.
The timing matters because Ohio State may need extra help at the position, and the staff has already been looking for more ways to spread the field. That creates a real opening for Henry and Boyd to get involved in a game that could test the depth chart a little more than expected, while Kyle Parker is also positioned to enter the mix after missing the early part of the season. The next step is whether those practice flashes turn into actual game reps when the Buckeyes line up against Maryland. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Has A Few Injury Questions At The Worst Time
Ohio States first availability report for the Maryland game brought a few expected bumps, but the overall picture was still fairly manageable. The Buckeyes entered the week with several players either out or uncertain, yet the list also suggested the roster is generally in good shape heading into the matchup.
The biggest concern for the offense is the status of wide receivers Devin McCuin and Brandon Inniss, both of whom were listed as questionable. On the other side of the ball, safety Leroy Roker III was ruled out, leaving Ohio State to sort through a handful of late-week injury questions at a time when depth and stability matter even more. [Read more 🡒]