Nation's Top Recruit Makes His Choice

As college decision time approached, Arch Manning has tried to stay below the radar. He's kept his Instagram account private, and, until now, he'd never tweeted. Manning has taken no steps to engage in name, image and likeness opportunities, ESPN reports. But avoiding attention isn't easy for a quarterback who passed for 5,731 yards and 72 touchdowns in his first three years of high school—and who has such a famous football name. On Thursday, Manning made news with a low-key announcement on Twitter, posting: "Committed to the University of Texas."

The top-rated recruit in the high school class of 2023 had plenty of people who could give him advice about the high-pressure process, per Yahoo Sports, including his grandfather Archie Manning and uncles Eli and Peyton Manning. His father, Cooper, was a wide receiver at Ole Miss. But the 18-year-old "made this decision on his own," said Manning's high school coach, Nelson Stewart. Manning wanted an "old-school, 1970s-type recruitment," Stewart said. One coach who recruited the future Longhorn said he's good enough to have been the top player in his class even if his name weren't Manning. With his decision made, Stewart said, "Hope he can rest and enjoy his senior year." (More college football stories.)