More than 80% of Football Bowl Subdivision scholarship players from the 2023 class signed their National Letter of Intent on the first day of the early signing period.
Among area colleges, Texas without question hauled in the most touted recruit in Isidore Newman (LA) five-star quarterback Arch Manning, the prodigious nephew of Peyton and Eli and grandson of Archie.
Manning, the No.1 overall recruit in the class of 2023 per 247Sports, officially signed his letter of intent to join the Longhorns on Wednesday.
The 6-foot-4, 220-pound star quarterback was a four-year starter at Newman, throwing for 8,599 yards and 115 touchdowns with 20 interceptions while rushing for 1,155 yards and 25 TDs. He broke Eli’s school record for passing yards (7,268) and Peyton’s for TDs (93).
He has been committed to Texas since June, choosing the Longhorns over Georgia, Alabama, LSU, Clemson, and Virginia.
Manning will step into a Longhorns team whose starting quarterback for most of last season was Quinn Ewers — the No.1 overall prospect in the 247Sports’ 2021 recruit rankings.
Ewers threw for 1,808 yards, 14 touchdowns, and six interceptions in nine starts (he missed three games with a shoulder injury), struggling at times — including in a 41-34 loss to Oklahoma State in which he threw three interceptions — and completed just 48.1% of his passes against AP Top 25 teams.
Manning will get an opportunity to compete for the starting job, according to head coach Steve Sarkisian, who said earlier this season that he likes to “wipe the slate clean” every year in a quarterback competition.
Also on Wednesday, Texas beat out Oklahoma for the commitment of Lehi (UT) Skyridge four-star linebacker Tausili Akana to add to a class that has moved from No.4 entering the day to No.3 currently, according to 247Sports.
Other Wednesday Signing Day News:
- Denton Guyer five-star safety Peyton Bowen signed a letter of intent to join Oregon on Wednesday. Bowen had been committed to Notre Dame since January. He is the No.2 safety and No.14 overall player in the nation, per 247Sports.
- Bowen is one of three five-star recruits to flip their commitment on the first day of the early signing period. Detroit (MI) King quarterback Dante Moore signed with UCLA after being committed to Oregon, and Des Moines (IA) Polk offensive lineman Kadyn Proctor decided to join Alabama’s top-ranked class after entering the day as an Iowa commit.
- After losing Moore, Oregon acquired his replacement by flipping four-star Dripping Springs (TX) quarterback Austin Novosad, who had been committed to Baylor. Novosad ranks as the No.86 overall player and No.9 QB in the country.
- Oregon also nabbed a signature from one of the highest-ranked uncommitted recruits entering the day, Bellflower (CA) St. John Bosco five-star defensive lineman Matayo Uiagalelei, the No.17 overall player in the country. The Ducks’ class had been ranked outside the top 10 entering Wednesday, but it is now ranked the No.7 overall class by 247Sports.
- North Crowley four-star tight end Ka’Morreun Pimpton signed a letter of intent to continue his football career at LSU. Pimpton, the No.213 player in the nation, had been committed to Vanderbilt entering the day but was one of the nation’s best-kept secrets, emerging as a four-star recruit late in the recruiting cycle.
- Three-star DeSoto safety Jaden Milliner-Jones was another local recruit that made a last-second switch of his college choice. Milliner-Jones was expected to sign with SMU on Wednesday but shocked those in attendance at DeSoto’s signing day by announcing he would instead be joining Deion Sanders’ new staff at Colorado.
- Texas A&M officially landed the signature of four-star athlete Micah Tease out of Tulsa (OK) Washington High School. Tease, the No.115 overall recruit in the 2023 class, picked the Aggies after being committed to Arkansas for much of the year’s second half before de-committing early this week.
- The Aggies also secured the signature of South Oak Cliff four-star cornerback Jayvon Thomas. Thomas was committed to Texas A&M entering the day, but reports had emerged that he was considering flipping to TCU.
- Texas A&M also added one of the more interesting Dallas area recruits in three-star Mansfield Lake Ridge defensive lineman Rylan Kennedy, who played just one season of high school football. Kennedy had one scholarship offer on November 6 — from Division II Missouri State — before dramatically rising in the recruiting rankings and receiving offers from Auburn, Cal, Texas, Texas A&M, USC, and Washington, among others, over the course of a month.
- Texas A&M’s class is now ranked No.14 by 247Sports after entering the day at No.15.
