For a fleeting moment, Manning to UVA was a pleasant thought

By Jerry Ratcliffe

It was a nice fantasy for Virginia football fans while it lasted, but as it turned out, Arch Manning’s visit to Charlottesville last weekend was much ado about nothing.

Manning, the 5-star, No. 1-ranked quarterback prospect in the nation for the Class of 2023, is the nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning, the grandson of Archie Manning. Arch’s father, Cooper, is the oldest of the Manning brothers.

Arch Manning’s surprise and unannounced visit to the Virginia football program caused quite a stir in the recruiting world and even made headlines in the New York Post. Shocked recruiting analysts pondered as to whether UVA was a new player for Manning, who is reportedly headed to Alabama, Texas or Georgia.

Apparently, with his family visiting Arch’s sister, who is enrolled at UVA (Arch’s mom attended law school at Virginia), Arch decided to come by and say hello to new Cavaliers head coach Tony Elliott. Elliott had previously had contact with Manning when Elliott was the offensive coordinator at Clemson.

While it was a tribute to Elliott to receive a visit from Manning, media read way more into the situation than existed.

“It was at best a courtesy visit and not a legitimate football visit,” said a source close to the situation.

While Arch has ties to Virginia with his mom and sister and aunt (even his dad has become a member at a local golf course), there is no intention of him playing for the Cavaliers.

We have plenty of baby sitting gigs for you in Charlottesville, Arch@greenlight | @WynnBET | @MaconPlays pic.twitter.com/ebFCiBiC3q

— Chris Long (@JOEL9ONE) April 12, 2022

Manning’s high school coach in New Orleans recently told LonghornsCountry.com that:

“I think [Arch] is still very open, but he said he wants to go to practices and sit in meetings,” Newman School coach Nelson Stewart said. “He really is a meat-and-potatoes kid, he want to go see the schools, he’s not about the fluff.

“I think he’s pretty locked in with what he wants to do, but he’s not one of those guys that’s going go announce a list or anything. He’s being really thorough. He’s going to get through this round and see where it is. He definitely doesn’t have a timeline.”