Arch Manning Auditions for the NFL vs. No. 81 Arkansas

Texas quarterback Arch Manning didn’t fool around with dinking and dunking in the first quarter against No. 81 Arkansas like he had the rest of this season.

Nope.

First series ⎯

DEEP!

Touchdown pass for 46 yards!

Well then…

What was the most impressive part of that long touchdown pass?

He hit his receiver in stride.

What was the second-most impressive part of that long touchdown pass?

It was his third read.

Manning took a look out in the flat at an open target, who wasn’t far off the line of scrimmage, and for a split second, it had that look of being his umpteenth screen pass of the season. But, nope. He moved off that read and onto his second read along the sideline, nope. His head continued slightly moving again, and that’s when he spotted his backside receiver, DeAndre Moore Jr., charging hard toward the goal line wide-open.

The Razorbacks never saw it coming.

Their pass coverage didn’t even react to the trajectory of the ball until after Manning launched it, and by then, it was too late.

WATCH TEXAS VS. ARKANSAS HERE

How did he look the rest of the first half?

The second offensive series also led to a Texas touchdown, but this drive had a plot twist.

What were the highlights of the drive?

Manning threw to his second-read with anticipation at the intermediate route level (15-yard gain).To cap off that drive, Manning caught a short touchdown pass. Yeah, you read that right.

That’s when the cork came off.

Manning launched not one…

Not two…

Not three…

But four more deep passes in the second quarter, completing one of them. The one that he completed hung up there a little too long, but Longhorns’ receiver Parker Livingstone managed to haul it in.

What else happened?

Manning threw a couple more into the intermediate route level (10-19 yards). One was thrown with anticipation, and one wasn’t.

Resilient

Despite going a little colder for a period of time, Manning put that behind him and came out in the second half firing a couple nice nice-looking second-read passes into the intermediate route level and capped off that drive with a short touchdown run of his own.

Back to the airshow…

After another deep passing attempt by Manning that he overthrew while under pressure, he came back with one of his prettiest passes of the season with anticipation.

Then bang-bang. Two more touchdown throws.

• He scrambled around before hitting an open receiver in the back of the endzone
• He climbed the pocket on a second read for an intermediate route level touchdown pass.

After one last drive designed to chew some clock, Manning was done for the day.

• 18 of 30 (60%) for 389 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions, and no sacks

NFL scouting perspective

How does what Manning did against Arkansas translate to the NFL?

A –

*Grade discounted from an A to an A – due to the level of competition.

For the first time this season, Manning seemed relaxed, and the offense looked like it was in sync the entire time he was leading the charge.

What other things stood out about his performance?

• Confidence
• Led the offense with a steady rhythm and tempo
• Poise in a muddied pocket
• Eyes downfield at all times
• Elastic-looking type of body flexibility
• Often moved off his first read
• Was seeing the field better

He also began doing something I haven’t seen from him before.

Manning started manipulating the defense with a slight pump fake to his first read before throwing to his second read. This effectively froze the coverage a number of times.

What wasn’t I crazy about?

Stuff that he’s been showing all season and continued showing against Arkansas.

1. Inconsistent throwing with anticipation (holds the ball too long and stares down the receiver at times).
2. He continues to throw with too much upper body, too much arm. The sling-shot throwing motion isn’t giving him enough control of his ball placement.
3. Too hot and cold.

I felt a real sense of urgency in this game from Manning to prove to the NFL he’s more than another game manager.

Daniel Kelly is a former NFL Scout with the New York Jets. He was hired on the regime which featured Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Scott Pioli, Mike Tannenbaum, and Dick Haley. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief for First Round Mock, and has written for Sports Illustrated (Lions, Jets, and 49ers), NFL Draft Diamonds, and Yardbarker, as well as a featured guest on ESPN Radio and Fox Sports Radio. Featured in USA Today. For more information about him visit his website at whateverittakesbook.com. Follow on Twitter @firstroundmock.