Arch Manning’s HS coach has intriguing perspective on his UGA recruitment

Arch Manning outfitted in the red and black of Georgia — his high school coach could have envisioned it.

“Oh, yeah,” Nelson Stewart told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Tuesday. “One hundred percent.”

Stewart now is the coach at Westminster, having just completed his first season with the Wildcats. But before that, he coached at Isidore Newman, the New Orleans school made famous as the alma mater of quarterback legends Peyton and Eli Manning, as well as their less legendary brother Cooper, the father of Arch. (Stewart, in fact, also attended Isidore Newman and was teammates with Peyton and Cooper.)

And when Arch Manning’s recruitment grew, Stewart ran point for the process, keeping attention and pressure off the prospect ranked first in the 2023 class.

Georgia, Alabama and Texas became the most likely destinations. And while few people — if any — saw the Bulldogs as the favorites for Manning’s commitment, that’s not necessarily how Stewart viewed the recruiting derby.

“A lot of people felt like that was kind of the odds-on (favorite) of where he was going to go in our discussions,” Stewart said.

There was reason for it.

In 2022, Georgia was coming off the front end of its back-to-back national championships. Then-offensive coordinator Todd Monken was a brilliant coach, to say nothing of Smart. With Stetson Bennett playing his final season in 2022, Manning could compete for the starting job in his first season. He could practice daily against a defense stocked with future NFL draft picks.

He had made a number of visits to Athens. In Stewart’s words, Manning loved Smart.

“I really tried to let him make his own decisions,” Stewart said. “But I will say that, just from a peripheral, I think that Todd Monken and (then-analyst) Buster Faulkner, they recruited him very hard. They did a great job.”

Georgia, of course, lost out to Texas and Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian. The No. 10 Longhorns will play the No. 5 Bulldogs in their first game in Athens on Saturday night. Manning will be a focal point of the Texas game plan.

But imagine had Manning signed with Georgia and joined a quarterback group that would have had Carson Beck, Brock Vandagriff and Gunner Stockton.

Could he have won the job as a freshman? Would he have sat behind Beck for two years, as he did with Quinn Ewers at Texas? Who would have won a competition for the starting job after that? Would Manning and Stockton, who enrolled in January 2022, have both stayed?

It’s an intriguing “What if?”

Monday at his weekly media availability, Smart offered his own recollections of the recruitment of Manning.

“His recruitment was based on, he’s athletic, he’s fast, he’s intelligent, he’s got composure, he’s got arm,” Smart recalled Monday. “I mean, he can do it all.”

Smart made an impression on Manning. He once showed up unannounced for one of Manning’s games. Stewart said Cooper Manning told him they were impressed with Smart and the efficiency of his practices and the operations of the program.

“I just thought everything they did was intentional and, obviously, I think that Kirby, he’s kind of second to none,” Stewart said. “He’s very authentic.”

In the competition for Manning’s allegiance, “I think they were knee deep in it, for sure,” Stewart said.

Of course, it didn’t turn out that way. Sarkisian’s own relationship with Manning, his history of developing quarterbacks and the draw of Austin, Texas, won out.

The funny thing is that it has worked out for both Texas and Georgia. The Longhorns have a generational talent who, in his first season as their starter, is improving by the week.

“I watched (Sunday) each (Texas) game throughout the year and watched him just grow and play and play better,” Smart said. “He’s extending plays, he’s doing really well with scrambles, keeps his eyes downfield, doesn’t look at the rush. He’s made some really impressive ‘Wow’ throws, and they’re playing better offensively.”

And would Bulldogs fans have it any other way than to have Stockton piloting the UGA offense? His teammates undoubtedly would not.

“Everyone on the team knows what kind of guy Gunner is, and we all love him,” tight end Oscar Delp said Monday. “I don’t think you can find a guy in that locker room or in this organization that would want anyone different leading our team.”

And the even stranger twist is that, statistically speaking, the perpetually underrated Stockton arguably is outperforming Manning.

Stockton has a higher completion percentage, a higher passing efficiency rating and a better touchdown/interception ratio than Manning, who was touted as the preseason Heisman Trophy favorite this year.

While not in the colors they had in mind, what Georgia fans hoped for arrives Saturday night — Arch Manning in the Sanford Stadium spotlight.