ATLANTA — Tim Tebow said Saturday on SEC Nation that Arch Manning needs to block out the attention around him to become one of the best quarterbacks in the country. The former Florida quarterback made the comments during the show’s season-opening broadcast from International Plaza outside Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where Auburn plays Baylor in the Aflac Kickoff Game at 2:30 p.m. CT on ABC. SEC Network posted the segment on X at 9:13 a.m. CT.
“I think it’s so important that you get rid of the noise around you,” Tebow said. “Just focus on playing your game. Because when he does that, I really think he’ll be one of the best.”
Tebow won the Heisman Trophy in 2007 and two national championships at Florida. He is in his 13th season on SEC Nation, which expanded to three hours this year and added host Matt Barrie, analyst Chase Daniel, and reporter Marion Crowder. Daniel, a former Missouri quarterback, took part in the Manning segment.
Manning is in his fourth year at Texas and his second as the full-time starter. The Longhorns open the season against Texas State at 2:30 p.m. CT on ESPN at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, ranked No. 5 in the Associated Press poll and No. 4 in the coaches poll.
Arch Manning Enters 2026 Behind CJ Carr In Heisman Odds
A year ago, Manning opened the season as the Heisman favorite at +550, according to CBS Sports. Texas started 3-2 and finished 7-1, and Manning completed 248 of 404 passes for 3,163 yards with 26 touchdowns and 7 interceptions, adding 399 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns. Over the final eight games, he threw 15 touchdown passes with 2 interceptions.
As of Aug. 19, DraftKings listed Notre Dame’s CJ Carr as the Heisman favorite at +700 with Manning second at +750, per Fox Sports. BetMGM had Manning at +800 this week.
The question about Manning carrying that pressure into the season came next.
“I don’t even think that’s fair to say about Arch,” Tebow said. “Arch had more pressure than any Heisman Trophy candidate throughout the year and it wasn’t even close.”
Manning is the nephew of Peyton Manning and Eli Manning and the grandson of former Saints quarterback Archie Manning.
“You can’t just go hang out, you can’t just be a normal young man that’s trying to figure it out, and everyone’s trying to expect you to be like your uncles immediately, like they went through highs and lows and they turned out to be incredible Hall of Famers,” Tebow continued.
Tebow closed the segment on the people Manning listens to.
“You can’t control who speaks about you, but you can control who speaks into you,” Tebow said.
Texas Longhorns Open Against Texas State Before Ohio State
Manning had foot surgery in January and was limited during spring practice. On Aug. 24, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said Manning had a great fall camp. In January, Texas added wide receiver Cam Coleman from Auburn, who caught 93 passes for 1,306 yards and 13 touchdowns in two seasons with the Tigers. He joins Ryan Wingo, who led Texas with 54 catches for 834 yards and 7 touchdowns last season.
Earlier Saturday on ESPN’s College GameDay in Baton Rouge, La., Nick Saban said Texas had a really young team a year ago and expects this year’s team to be more mature with better leadership. Desmond Howard picked Texas to beat Notre Dame for the national championship.
Texas hosts No. 1 Ohio State next Saturday at 6:30 p.m. CT on ABC, with College GameDay on the Texas campus from 8 to 11 a.m. CT. Ohio State beat Texas 14-7 in Columbus in last season’s opener. Texas plays UTSA on Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. CT on SEC Network+ and opens SEC play at Tennessee on Sept. 26 at 11 a.m. CT.
