People Are MISSING THIS With Texas & Arch Manning...

Added: 2026-05-14

[00:00:00]Joining us now, one of my favorite people, not just in the industry, but also on the face of the planet. He is the man from Andy and Ari on 3, Ari Wasserman. Ari, I got two non-football questions I want to throw your way before we get into the good stuff. Uh one, Drake album around the corner, expectations for Iceman.

[00:00:19]Oh man, I really like uh Drake's music catalog, but it feels like his albums have progressively been getting worse.

[00:00:26]Yes, I agree. Uh but also, it's probably hard to sustain like Take Care levels for 20 years. So, I understand that. Like, I've heard some clips from it, and I always know that there's going to be four or five tracks that are like 10 out of 10. Yeah. Um but in terms of expectations that the entire record is going to be great uh are fairly low, JD. And also, Drake is a very diverse musician. Like, he has a lot of different types of music. And sometimes, I don't know what the album is going to be. Is it going to be that like reggae-ish like singing music, or is he just going to rap over a chill beat for 5 minutes? Like, I don't know what I'm going to get. And I'm I'm more of an over my dead body type of guy who just, you know, just snapping for 5 minutes straight over a really chill beat. And if they if we can get 15 tracks of that, I would die a happy man. But I'm I'm excited for the album, cautiously optimistic about what to expect from it.

[00:01:19]That and Do Not Disturb, like that kind of vibe. We can get some of that going, dude.

[00:01:24]>> That's perfect. Yeah. Do Not Disturb is a masterpiece, and I just want an album of 15 of those. It's always the outro or the intro on his on his records that does it. Just do the whole thing that way. Just make the whole sandwich out of the bread. Yeah.

[00:01:37]>> [laughter] >> Last verse he has to do, man. Always like surgery. Second question, equally important. Uh girl dad advice. You're I I heard that your daughter is kind of getting into a Michael Jackson phase having seen the Michael Jackson movie.

[00:01:49]Any wisdom you could bestow upon me as a girl dad that is trying to follow in your footsteps of greatness over here.

[00:01:55]Oh man, uh I tell my daughter she's beautiful every day and that she can accomplish anything she wants in this world every day, but I'm also honest with her. Like she is kind of in that that stage of life, JD, where she sees a musician or a performer on television and wants to be like them.

[00:02:13]And, you know, I tell her you can do whatever you want. You are talented. You are beautiful.

[00:02:19]But you have to work at it. You know, you're not going to be given anything.

[00:02:22]So, you know, as early as 4 years old, which sounds crazy, but like how did Michael Jackson become Michael Jackson?

[00:02:29]Well, I think part of it is obviously God-given ability cuz that man like I've got to take for you speaking of that in the middle of this.

[00:02:36]Is Michael Jackson more athletic than the best college football player?

[00:02:41]I would probably say no.

[00:02:44]I just don't know.

[00:02:45]>> athletic?

[00:02:46]I mean, think about how athletic you have to be to move your body the way that he moved it.

[00:02:51]Um so, I'm thinking like him versus Jeremiah Smith. Like the athleticism of a Jeremiah Smith to me is just in another level of like again athleticism.

[00:03:01]Like I think ability for Michael Jackson and like the commitment to the craft probably doing things that Jer- Jeremiah Smith couldn't do, but like you line him up in the combine, I think Jeremiah Smith is waxing Michael Jackson in the majority of those uh if not all those events.

[00:03:16]>> This is what you get when you invite me on your show. Just nonsense. But you're thinking of Michael Jackson lining up next to Jeremiah as a corner.

[00:03:24]But now try to envision Jeremiah Smith on a stage next to Michael Jackson. Like you have to apply both You you can't just put Michael Jackson into his specialty. You have to put them both into each other's specialty. And Jeremiah Smith could not move like that in on stage. But to get back to what I was saying though, JD, is I think it's important to instill expectations that if you want something, you have to work every single day to achieve it.

[00:03:48]I'm a really big believer in that and I can't stand when older people tell me how crappy the latest generation is, and I and I want to be one of those people that eventually turns into that. But, I do hear a lot that young kids and, you know, Gen Z'ers don't work as hard or don't want to work as hard. My daughter is going to understand that if she has a goal or she has a dream or a vision, that it's okay to, you know, prop that up and think about it every day and want it, but you're going to have to do the things in your personal time and your your day-to-day routine that supports that dream, because you don't just get what you want because you exist.

[00:04:25]I like that a lot. I think that's great parenting, and I think probably too, just the majority of the population by nature of us having that take as a society of like the generation behind us always not working hard, I think people are just lazy in general, too. And so, that maybe poisons the water of every We see all these lazy people around us, and it's like, no, the majority of people aren't willing to work at their craft or whatever that thing is, too.

[00:04:47]>> too, JD, it's a lot easier. The threshold to becoming famous now is much lower bar than it used to be. Like, if you were famous in 1981, you were famous because you possessed a world- class talent that most people can't duplicate. Now, you There's people who are just famous because they're mentally ill on television. So, like, it's just it's a very different world, but if she wants to perform, we will get her the classes and we will give her everything that she needs from a tool aspect in order to explore those things, but whether you achieve greatness is ultimately up to the individual. And uh Yeah, that's the something that, you know, never put a limit on kids, but also reinforce what it takes to get to where That's what my dad did. He said I could be a sports writer when I was 15 years old.

[00:05:31]It worked out well, but I worked my ass off for it, and so did you. So, you know, here we are.

[00:05:35]>> [snorts] >> Like I said, man, that's good parenting.

[00:05:37]That's good parenting. You know who else had good parents, Ari, in the world of uh just the football landscape in general? Uh Arch Manning, from what Cooper Manning bestowed upon him as well as the rest of the uh Good segue. I thought you were going to say Nico Iamaleava there for a [laughter] second, but you know, you went with Arch.

[00:05:52]We can have a conversation about the Iamaleava family and what went down about a year ago, but Arch Manning as I understand it, there is a wager that you have with Andy Staples as to Arch Manning and his Heisman candidacy.

[00:06:05]You guys had a phenomenal conversation with Yahoo Sports' Nate Thies post draft just about all the nuances of Arch's game, confidence level on the Arch Manning ability to get to New York to be a Heisman finalist in the right month of May.

[00:06:18]So, you have biceps that could change the world JD. So, maybe you were like more in shape than I am.

[00:06:26]Although, I'm working out. I'm in the 230s now for the first time in 6 years.

[00:06:30]Yeah, but I'm trying to get down to the the 190s.

[00:06:34]But, I could not go run 5 miles right now. Like period point blank. I don't know how many adults like the average adult could.

[00:06:41]And I told Andy without training I could run 5 miles cuz he is one of the humans that does that regularly and he can put a GoPro on his head and follow me and and taunt me the entire way as I'm I'm sucking wind if Arch isn't a finalist. Now, maybe he'll take mercy on me if something that happens out of our control like an injury or miss time for whatever reason or injuries to somebody else on the team. I don't know like extenuating circumstances. You never can guarantee.

[00:07:08]But, I I think about it and maybe my my past covering Ohio State for 10 years has clouded my judgment.

[00:07:15]But, at the quarterback position, you do not have to be Peyton Manning to excel in this game if your entire team is filled with future pro bowlers.

[00:07:24]And I think last year Arch Manning improved dramatically as the year went on.

[00:07:29]And I certainly think that the offensive line improved as the year went on a little bit which kind of helped it you know, speed up the progressions a little bit. But, like when you think about what they're bringing back on offense and what they are bringing in on offense to complement his game.

[00:07:45]I feel like it's kind of hard to envision that he won't at least be very productive.

[00:07:51]Now, does that mean I think he's going to be Cam Newton or the greatest quarterback that's ever played the game?

[00:07:55]Like I don't know that I'm saying that, but I think it's highly unlikely that he won't be productive and that Texas won't win a lot of games and by default his name and his image and his aura and his last name in this specific instance will aid him in that voting process. So, like I I think it's a a highly unlikely thing that he won't at least be invited to New York and Texas is also my preseason pick to win the national championship because of you know, they got one of the best tackles in the country in Trev Alberts and got Cam Coleman coming in who I think is the closest thing to Jeremiah Smith there is in college football. They have two new running backs.

[00:08:32]They've got a coach that knows how to draw up some ball plays. Like it it seems to me like if you are fading Arch right now, like what are you fading?

[00:08:39]Like you think he sucks? Like he doesn't suck.

[00:08:42]He was in first year, got better, and now his team is much better around him.

[00:08:45]It seems very like almost impossible that he won't at least throw for 3,500 yards and like 28 touchdowns, which will get him to the get him to the ceremony, I think. That's the thing is last year it was so easy to dunk on Arch Manning because of all the preseason hype and he kind of became like he was there's almost like a target on his back before he even took a snap as the guy at Texas because of all the things said about him and his last name and just all that. But you look at what happened at the end of last year, especially the second half of last year.

[00:09:14]Like Ari, I was impressed by the way he got up off the ropes with things not being perfect around him. Like the excitement is what they did in the portal getting a Cam Coleman improving the defense, improving the backfield, but it was not ready-made for success last year for Arch and the way he was able to overcome the growing pains and then play great football down the stretch. That told me a a about the way that Arch Manning's wired upstairs, which gives me confidence he'll build upon that going into '26 and have a great season and I think based on, you know, what we're talking about right now, being contention for the Heisman.

[00:09:46]I actually think that it's very easy to rewrite history based on how things go.

[00:09:50]And like I do think that if he does and I'm right, he does go to the Heisman ceremony or wins the Heisman that we will look back and say, "Well, the best thing that could have happened to him is that he had an awful first year as a starter or awful first half of a first year as a starter and that he was able to use that mental fortitude to, you know, pick himself up and dust himself off and do it." And I do think that there are some positives to being the greatest thing in the entire world and then having to like face people mocking you for the first time in your life. I mean, I remember specifically there was a guest column at The Athletic last year that said his name is synonymous with failure and I thought that was insane.

[00:10:21]>> Crazy. So, um this other point though that I think that I like I actually am sympathetic toward him in a way that like is reverse for how we got here. And it's like I feel like a lot of people resent him personally for the hype that happened around his name despite the fact that he had never took any part in amping it up himself. Like you can't control who your parents are or what your last name is.

[00:10:47]And I think that he has handled himself, his recruitment, his first year at Texas with a lot of grace. Um I don't think he's done anything to cause a distraction. In fact, I'm not sure there are a lot of people that would have been as hyped up as he was as a recruit that would have been okay sitting.

[00:11:03]Um And like people want him to fail because he's a Manning? Like I I just don't understand the the And maybe people are resentful of us for hyping him up because of his name? I don't know. But here's what I do know.

[00:11:17]We have NFL Draft experts who analyze the game in a way that I cannot.

[00:11:22]Footwork, mechanics, uh you know, all the different things that go into the pre-draft process who are telling me that he is a elite processor, that he has great footwork, that he keeps his eyes downfield, that he's got a rocket arm, and he's very athletic.

[00:11:35]Like, if you take his name out of it, and you put somebody in that has an elite arm, athleticism, uh great processing skills, um good family pedigree, and then you put him around like Texas's complimentary pieces, what that equation doesn't spit out failure to me. Like, that equation doesn't spit out mediocrity to me. That equation seems to me like people think I'm insane for including him in top 10 lists and thinking that he's going to go to the Heisman. It's like, I'm just doing basic math here. What math are you doing if you think you he stinks? Is that, "Oh, I watched the opener last year and saw him struggle against the best defense in college football on the road, and I've just decided that he sucks." Cuz you know those people who say he sucks weren't watching UTEP. You know, they weren't watching those games. So, that's my challenge to you as a listener. If you are upset with me for thinking this, I would be very curious what to know like don't just give me the answer. Like, this is a be a high school math teacher.

[00:12:28]Show me your work. Why does he suck?

[00:12:31]And why do you think he's going to have a bad year this year?

[00:12:34]I think that like my opinion is more of a layup than yours. No, I would agree. I didn't mean to cut you off there. I would agree cuz I think the thing with a lot of just the college football public is there's maybe some sense of oh, we got burned because the media a year ago, a large portion of the media was saying all these things of he's the preseason Heisman Trophy favorite, he's the preseason number one overall, you know, pick according to Vegas. And then he goes out, and like you just said, struggles on the road against the best defense in college football and takes his lumps with an offensive line that was mediocre to sub par. And then we, you know, fast forward the tape a year later, and people are saying a lot of the same things. And they're like, "Wait, you told us this last year. Why are we saying this again that he's going to be great again?" And it's like, "Well, no, not everyone was saying this last year. Some of us were on the, you know, side of the pool saying, 'Hey, I'm going to wait to jump in. I want to see him have a little bit of time on task before we crown the guy as the next, you know, it in college football.

[00:13:29]Yeah, and maybe there were, you know, like last year at this time I was saying I think DJ Lagway is going to be the best player in college football. Sure.

[00:13:36]Sure. The hardest part about this, JD, and I know that you and I have different backgrounds, but when I got into this job, into this career, this space, my job was to catalog um what had happened and report on what had happened and then present to the audience or to the reader why something happened. And since podcasting and microphones and YouTube has taken off, like our jobs have somehow forced us into a place, and I think it's fun to speculate about the future, where people expect you to be able to nail every prediction that you have, and it's just not what our jobs ever have been. You know, I enjoy doing it. I think it's fun to speculate and to dream and to fantasize and bring up hypotheticals and all the things that could happen in the future.

[00:14:23]But like if you're expecting me, like if I you would have told me Arch Manning is going to struggle against UTEP at this time last year, I would have been like, that doesn't make sense. Now, I ultimately was wrong, as I was with DJ Lagway and a lot of other things. I'm wrong all the time, as are you and as are the listeners, because it's impossible to predict the future.

[00:14:41]But our jobs also in predicting the future is very based on using the information that we have already at our disposal and trying to make the best educated guess as to what's going to happen with that information. And the information that we have out of Texas in the moment all points to a great season.

[00:15:01]And how many quarterbacks have excelled very greatly in college football, have had great years, and never even sniffed the NFL?

[00:15:11]Like I think that people think he has to be like Peyton Manning to be successful.

[00:15:15]What if he's just Quinn Ewers? What if he's two steps better than Quinn Ewers?

[00:15:19]What if he's one step better than another quarterback that had a great career and wasn't drafted.

[00:15:24]There are so many great players in college football that change programs and are very productive who never sniff the NFL.

[00:15:32]So, the benchmark's not that high to exist and have a really good season with a bunch of good players at Texas.

[00:15:38]And if your two sets better than Quinn Ewers, a guy who had Texas on the doorstep of a national title two separate times, math would say, to use your, you know, your metaphor there, probably pretty good things happening for Texas in the month of January. But you mentioned like this part of the year we're taking the information we're given, we're doing our best to estimate going forward for the '26 season. I text you before we got on the air here and said, "Hey Ari, who are you kind of falling for right now?" This is the part of the year where we start to get a better feel for what we're going to say come prediction time in the month of, uh, you know, August, late July. You said, "I'm all in on Texas, love Texas." You know, you mentioned him a second ago, you have him winning the national championship. But you mentioned Miami as well. Ari, they're pretty on paper, dude. Like on paper they're They're pretty on paper.

[00:16:20]>> lot to like, man. Mensah, Tony, Damon Wilson. I don't want to steal your thunder. Why are you high on Miami and just thoughts around the Canes, man?

[00:16:28]This feels like it could be a year where they could be for a national championship. You know, I think that it's very easy to fall in love with what's on paper.

[00:16:35]Um, and I am certainly one of those. But I also think that, uh, Miami did a really good job last year of debunking all the things that you would have criticized them for.

[00:16:45]Mario Cristobal can't coach on game day, they are not tough enough, they're in the ACC. Like I watched them in person for four quarters battle Indiana. I watched them in person for four quarters beat up on Ohio State. Do you know how athletically gifted, how well coached, how advanced you have to be as a program to exist in those environments and not, you know, win one of them and play They were 40 yd I think people forget they were 40 yd away from winning the national title. Like you get so caught up in Indiana euphoria because it's such an interesting and fun story that you like forget the other team on the sideline also has never won the ACC and hasn't won a championship in two decades. And there's a huge mountain that's been climbed in in uh Coral Gables that has kind of gotten lost in the story here a little bit. And then you look back and and you say, well, you know, two years ago they they had Cam Ward and Xavier Restrepo and Jacolby George and they didn't get it done. Last year they took another step forward in a year that frankly didn't feel like they were going to, right? When you lose the offense that they had two years ago, you're not supposed to expect that they're going to make it to the national championship game despite all odds with two really good defensive players that could muck up a game, they did it. And now I look at their two-deep on offense especially and I'm thinking, do they have the best offense in college football? Now, it's hard, right? Like Ohio State still exists and places that have really uh [snorts] Texas exists, that's another team that I really like, but if you look at the the depth chart here, especially on the offensive side of the ball, um you know, Miami does seem to have the ingredients with with uh Malachi Tony and you know, Samson Okunlola, a former five-star tackle, you know, stepping in and Darian Mensah and Mark Fletcher's back and you know, here's another one, Cooper Barkate.

[00:18:22]Like there's a really good receiver that comes from Duke with Darian Mensah to add on to the Tony um the Tony train, man. Like I just it's hard like obviously they've got to replace some some pieces in the secondary, but Miami also did that very well last year with with some of the guys that they brought in. Um so, what's not to like? Also, their schedule stinks. So, like it's easy like to you know, like I I'm high on LSU because they spent all that money and brought all these players. I'm high on Notre Dame because they have all these returning guys that you know, are very good and they have an easy schedule.

[00:18:56]Like but like I just don't know that like Miami is in that like doesn't it seem like Notre Dame is up there at the top of like, oh yeah, they're probably going to win the championship and like Miami is like four steps below them for some reason, which is why I picked them.

[00:19:09]Yeah, and and it's funny because the questions people have about Miami as we sit here in May are like around the offensive line. And you're like, wait, Mario Cristobal and Alex Mirabal are the best on the face of the planet when it comes to making sure the offensive line's in a good spot relative to, you know, the world of college football. And so like if that's your question, you mentioned Okunlola, have a lot of confidence that a lot of other things will fall apart before the offensive line is the issue at Miami.

[00:19:36]You mentioned all the weapons, you mentioned Mensah. I mean, you talked about the final drive.

[00:19:41]There's a lot to be made about that throw from Carson Beck, and is it on him? Is it on the receiver? And it's like, I don't know, but I bet Darian Mensah's probably giving us a better ball at the end of that game. And that's not fair to Carson Beck because he had him on the doorstep of a national championship. But the feeling for me is like Miami for the first time in a minute feels truly activated. Like that I feel like they are for the first time realistically believing in that locker room at a player level, no, like the expectation is win a national freaking championship, which I think should be and is refreshing for Hurricane fans.

[00:20:11]Yeah, I also think that it's okay to acknowledge what you said, you know?

[00:20:14]Uh you can say that Darian Mensah is giving you a better ball at the end of the game. You might even say that Is anybody here denying that Darian Mensah is an upgrade at quarterback? Not I. Like I I I don't know. Like it's not you're not doing it to pile on Carson Beck, and you're not trying to take away from his accomplishments, but I don't think that there's any question that they got better at quarterback. Um so if they got better at quarterback, and they still have maybe the most electrifying offensive piece with that quarterback on the team, not to mention a running back who is a NFL player.

[00:20:48]Like you said, the offensive line's going to be good. Like they have a lot of ingredients to being really good offensively. Now, the thing that that scares you if you're not a Miami fan is you know, 2 years ago they had one of the worst defensive units you've ever seen in your entire life. And they went into the portal, and they they, you know, got Damon Wilson, and you know, another defensive end that, you know, should wreck games kind of like Bain did a year ago and you know they have other pieces that they added in the in the secondary to try to make it better. Now I don't know if I anticipate that Miami's defense is going to be quite as good as it was last year because they had a lot of players taken.

[00:21:19]But if their defense is just very good or really solid, that's still going to be enough for this team cuz like sometimes I think like what if Miami had last year's defense and two years ago's offense? Gosh.

[00:21:30]>> God, that would have been a fun team, right? Like it's hard to line them all up and it's still hard it's harder for every for everyone right now to have the best offense and the best defense in the country at the same time because talent is so dispersed and retaining that talent is so difficult.

[00:21:44]But when I look at what they have on defense and when I look especially what they've put together on offense, when you look at rosters from top to bottom, I think that Miami is every bit as situated as a national championship contender as all the other teams that are are at the forefront of the thought when you bring up who's going to win it all next year.

[00:22:00]I couldn't agree more. Even just the style of game that you're playing if you're Miami, you're saying, "Okay, can you catch us when we're scoring 35 plus?" As opposed to what you said in 23 I guess 24 it was when it's like, "Hey, we better score 40 otherwise boys it might be might be a might be a long day.

[00:22:15]>> tough fight back. Tough fight back. So And like I think that Cam Ward is going to be an awesome NFL player and I think Xavier Restrepo, though tested poorly at the combine and isn't really doing anything in the NFL yet, was like a really great college player. And I think a lot of times too with so much draft coverage and like a large portion of our off season JD like we we we get football from August till February but from February to August like it's like what are we talking about? Where we have NFL draft guys on to to project the draft and then after the draft happens we have NFL guys on to project you know which players are the best in the country and it's like, you know, honestly speaking if you're a Miami fan you should care less about I mean obviously you want your players to get drafted so it's good for recruiting but like I'll take Xavier Restrepo 10 times out of 10 on my college team at any point.

[00:23:00]There are so many players that are so good and affect games so greatly in college that never sniff the NFL and I think that there was a lot of you know, a lot of NFL draft distraction that kind of takes away from appreciating players that actually will change the game. Like Diego Pavia.

[00:23:17]All we've talking about was Diego Pavia not being in the NFL and now he's signed with the Ravens and how he's short. Now it's like that guy did more for his program than anybody did for their program last year.

[00:23:26]>> Oh my gosh. I don't care if he throws a single pass in the NFL. Um so it's going to be an interesting dynamic to see how this all plays out, but I I think that like ingredients-wise, if you're making a meal, this is a pretty good grocery haul.

[00:23:38]It's going to be fun, man. I can It's funny, we're in the month of May and we're already like talking about Miami and their national title aspirations.

[00:23:44]We're talking about Texas and Arch. Man, I just I can't wait, man. Can't wait.

[00:23:48]And I appreciate you making time, talking some Iceman, talking fatherhood, talking Arch, talking Miami. We just We covered all the hits here, man. So I appreciate you as always, Ari. If you haven't yet subscribed to the other YouTube channel, Andy and Ari on 3 daily giving you your college football fix.

[00:24:02]Ari Wasserman, best in the business. Uh brother, always a pleasure. Really appreciate you. Love sharing a channel with you, JD. Love what you do and anytime you need me, I'm here.

[00:24:10]Appreciate you having me on and uh keep hitting those reps on the biceps, dude.

[00:24:14]We'll do. Love you, man. See you soon.

[00:24:16]>> let him slack. All right, thanks, JD.

[00:24:18]Talk to you soon.