Texas QB Arch Manning is behind two-way Colorado star Travis Hunter in CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd’s Heisman “hype” rankings through the first three weeks of the 2024 college football season. Behind Hunter at No. 1 and Manning at No. 2 was Miami’s Cam Ward, Ole Miss’s Jaxson Dart, Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty, and Alabama’s Jalen Milroe; in that order.
Having Hunter and Manning that high is an overreaction to the first three weeks of the season.
Hunter’s Colorado Buffaloes already have a three-score loss to Nebraska on their record. CU looked so overmatched in their 28-10 loss in Lincoln that many wondered if the Buffs would even hit their preseason 5.5 over-under total.
Colorado likely won’t win enough to keep Hunter relevant in any serious Heisman conversations by this season’s end.
As for Arch, his game action has come against Colorado State and UTSA. His abilities look undeniable, but seeing how the Longhorns’ offense looks under center against conference opponents would probably be prudent before discussing his name in the same sentence as the Heisman Trophy. Mississippi State being Texas’s first in-conference game actually won’t give us a true bellwether either, though, given how bad the Bulldogs have looked in their 1-2 start. The Red River Showdown on October 12, after a post-Bulldogs bye week, could, though.
Right now, speaking about Manning in that context is premature.
Arch Manning has too small of a sample size to be a true Heisman candidate just yet
Ward, Dart, and Milroe are all proven entities that have a chance to sit atop their conferences. Arch has that chance, too, to be clear. Putting such expectations on him is as unfair as expecting the same from Tennessee’s Nico Iamaleava.
The only reason those expectations are on Manning is because of his last name.
