Jordan Rodgers had the kind of on-air line that lands because it’s funny, self-aware, and just sharp enough to keep the conversation moving.
During a Friday appearance with Stephen A. Smith and Kevin Clark on ESPN, Rodgers was pressed after Smith pushed back on his view that Arch Manning could end up outside the top 10 in the NFL Draft.
“I’m wondering about you Jordan Rodgers, I really am,” Smith said. “You’re trying to tell me a Manning is going to fall out of the top 10 at the quarterback spot?
I mean I need you tested right now. Ain’t no way that’s going to happen.”
Rodgers answered by turning the spotlight on his own family name. He noted that he, too, comes from a famous football family as the younger brother of Aaron Rodgers, but that didn’t make him a top-10 pick.
“Let me just tell you, before anybody else, I was not a bad man, so that’s why I didn’t go [top 10],” he said on ESPN.
He was clearly joking, and he made sure to say that Manning is a much better player and prospect than he ever was. Rodgers said that both on the broadcast and again in a later social media post.
Rodgers’ own path is part of why the joke worked. He played at Vanderbilt under James Franklin and helped the Commodores to a 9-4 season in 2012 before going undrafted in the 2013 NFL Draft.
Even with Rodgers skeptical, the market still likes Manning heading into 2026. College football betting markets are bullish for the second straight year, and the Texas quarterback is among the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy entering the season.
Manning and Texas will open the 2026 season against Texas State on Sept. 5.
In Other News...
Vanderbilt Just Landed A Five Star Kicker For The Future
Vanderbilt has added an early piece to its 2027 recruiting board with the commitment of Ben Brewer, a five-star kicker from Fayette Academy in Somerville, Tennessee. Brewer gives the Commodores their first specialist pledge in the class, and his profile already stands out in the kicking ranks, where he is viewed as one of the better prospects in the region.
The timing matters, too, because Vanderbilt is looking ahead to the next wave at a position that can be easy to overlook until it suddenly becomes urgent. Brock Taylor is entering his senior season, so the staff has already had reason to think about how it will restock the room, and landing Brewer now gives the program an in-state answer before that conversation gets any louder. [Read more 🡒]
Vanderbilt Just Revealed A Crucial Building Block For Its Next Era
Vanderbilt is heading into a different kind of offseason after Clark Lea guided the program to a 10-3 breakthrough, and the challenge now is less about proving the Commodores can win and more about making sure the next version can hold that standard. With Diego Pavia and Eli Stowers moving on, the roster is leaning on the kind of experience that can smooth out a transition, and that has made the offensive line one of the most important places to watch as the new era takes shape.
Among the additions, transfer lineman Johnson stands out as a piece the staff believes can help steady things up front. Coaches have described him as a steady, hardworking presence, the sort of player who can bring balance to an offense while Vanderbilt settles in around a new quarterback, and his arrival gives the Commodores a little more confidence that the foundation is in place even as the lineup changes around it. [Read more 🡒]
Vanderbilts Historic QB Commit Faces The Tension Every Fan Feared
John Meredith III was already one of the most intriguing names in Texas future plans, a five-star cornerback who had been committed to the Longhorns since the 2027 cycle and carried the kind of recruiting buzz that usually comes with a player projected to matter early. Steve Sarkisian has at least acknowledged the conversation around Merediths readiness, noting there is no timetable and that he can get on the field when he is prepared, which is exactly the sort of update that keeps a blue-chip pledge on the radar.
For Vanderbilt fans watching the broader top-prospect landscape, the ripple effect is hard to miss because the same class includes quarterback Jared Curtis, along with other headline freshmen such as Miami tackle Jackson Cantwell, Ohio State receiver Chris Henry Jr. and Alabama back EJ Crowell. Curtis remains the name that matters most in Nashville, but stories like Merediths are a reminder of how quickly the recruiting board can shift, and how much uncertainty still hangs over even the most celebrated commitments before they ever take a college snap. [Read more 🡒]