The Arch Effect: how Manning’s commitment spurred a run of several top recruits picking Texas
July 18, 2022
The commitment of Arch Manning — top recruit in the 2023 class — to Texas on June 23 was a huge victory for the Longhorns, but the wave of recruits that quickly followed could arguably be just as big.
Wherever Arch Manning committed, it was widely assumed that more top recruits would follow in hopes of playing with the third quarterback to ever garner a perfect 1.000 composite rating from 247Sports, but few saw it happening so quickly.
Within a week of Manning’s announcement, the Longhorns secured nine commitments from other recruits, vaulting Texas’ class into the top 5 among all schools. Headlining the group after the five-star quarterback are a pair of four-star players, the first of which is Johntay Cook II. The wide receiver out of DeSoto High School is ranked No. 38 nationally and seventh at his position.
With sophomore receiver Xavier Worthy on track to potentially depart for the NFL Draft after his junior season, Cook will be a prime candidate to lead the Longhorns’ receiving corps in a few years.
Bringing a boost to defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski’s defense was the commitment of four-star Derek Williams, ranked No. 36 nationally and fourth at the safety position. Williams is a 6-foot-2-inch, 185-pound defensive back out of Louisiana who chose the Longhorns over 16 other offers.
“I knew (Manning) was (likely) going there, but I was just making sure,” Williams told ESPN on June 27. “That impacted my decision going (to Texas).”
It’s rare for players to admit on record that a certain athlete swayed their decision, but that’s the amount of pull that Manning has with his peers. While Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian can’t comment on Manning specifically due to NCAA rules, he acknowledged the effect that his commitment had at Big 12 Media Days.
“The great quarterbacks are influential people,” Sarkisian said Thursday. “In this day and age of the players being able to connect with one another in the recruiting process, they do have an impact on where certain people go, and so you have to be very mindful of the types of kids you’ve recruited at the quarterback position.”
Other notable recruits that will team up with Arch in the 2023 class are four-stars Jaydon Chatman and Jonah Wilson. Chatman is an offensive lineman who will help add depth to Texas’ front five, and Wilson will pair with Cook and bolster Texas’ receiver room.
The Longhorns also saw players decommit from other schools to come to Texas in wake of the news. Offensive tackle Trevor Goosby decommitted from TCU on June 26 before posting his commitment to Texas on Twitter less than an hour later.
Three-star edge rusher Billy Walton did the same, decommitting from Oklahoma State and joining the Cowboys’ Big 12 rival just a day later.
The initial wave of recruits following Manning’s commitment has come to a close, but there’s still plenty of time left in the recruiting cycle for more to come.
A couple of cornerbacks are currently predicted to choose Texas, according to 247Sports. Five-star Javien Toviano and four-star Malik Muhammad would bring a lot of talent to a position of need for the Longhorns.
Toviano is ranked No. 33 nationally and the fourth best cornerback, while Muhammad is the next best at the position and 43rd nationally.
In addition, four-star running back Cedric Baxter Jr. could join a Texas running back room that already features four-star Jaydon Blue from the 2022 class.
Overall, Manning’s decision had an instant reaction that put Texas in the running for its first No. 1 recruiting class since 2010. The Longhorns currently find themselves at No. 5 and top among Big 12 schools in the latest 2023 team rankings.
