THE WAIT FOR MANNING IS OVER

by Larry Carlson https://texaslsn.org

Arch Manning was not scheduled to meet the main media group until 4 pm here at the College Football Hall of Fame.

The SEC was gonna keep us waiting for the new marquee name. Manning knows something about waiting. Following four years as a high school starter in The Big Easy, Arch waited two years on the Forty Acres sidelines in the shadow of Quinn Ewers. Today, he was only waiting for his duties behind the media microphones in Atlanta.

Connor Petroziello was waiting, too. Positioned behind the velvet ropes by shortly after 7:30 am, the 13-year-old was sporting his burnt orange, number 16 Manning replica jersey. His parents, Jason and Jill, drove him up from their home in Senoia, GA, an hour south of Atlanta.

“Just how he plays,” is how Connor answered when I asked him what made him into an ardent Arch fan. “And he’s nice.”

Connor and his folks weren’t pulling for Arch or Texas until his auspicious debut as a two-game starter and key spot player last fall.

Now, father and son, historically Georgia Bulldog fans, will be in the stands come November. That’ll be when the Horns visit the Dawgs in Athens, Connor in burnt orange and Jason prepared for a friendly rivalry for one big game. Today, they said they were here to show up for Manning. The whole family agreed that there were no expectations for an autograph or even a nod. It was enough for young Connor to anticipate a glimpse of his favorite football player.

*****

At lunch, after Auburn and before Tennessee, I asked Kevin Trainor what he expected in the way of a media throng for Arch Manning.

Trainor, a longtime SEC fixture as moderator for the media Q&A sessions with coaches (the group interviews with players are just free-for-alls, with pushing, jostling and shouted questions), said he expected a circus. “I don’t think I could ever even see Johnny Manziel when he was here (following his 2012 Heisman season). All I could see was the crowd around him,” Trainor laughed.

At 3:15, Steve Sarkisian was introduced to the big room filled with media. A coach’s stroll to the lecturn is always marked by a recorded serenade of his school’s fight song. But when Sark strolled out, the Aggie War Hymn played for ten seconds. Sark didn’t just look undaunted; he didn’t notice. (An SEC official later apologized for the error and Sark was unaware. I guess A&M isn’t in his universe.) Sark gave his introductory remarks and I was one of the first four reporters to begin queueing up over at the podium where Arch would appear. As Sark answered questions for 15 minutes, the queue quickly mushroomed to about fifty reporters, photogs, etc.

When the 21-year-old who many favor for the Heisman walked up to take his place for 25 minutes of chat, I was “in the front row” and was able to get some of the first questions in. True to the reputation Manning has built in limited availability, he came off as relaxed but polished, poised and possessing a dry wit. He responded with easy, basic answers to my questions about the development of his O-line, his stunning debut against the Aggies last year, how he can handle Uncle Peyton about potential debates over “who the real UT is” in the SEC, etc. And Arch smiled and mentioned Mr. John’s Steakhouse and Pascal’s Manale (two places I like) when I asked him to name the New Orleans restaurants he misses most.

He’s a 21-year-old dude who could pass for Mr. Normal Joe College Guy. But he’s the player on every preseason magazine and the guy everyone wants to bother for interviews, photos and requests. He told us, with an easy grin, that he was looking forward to getting through with the Q&A duty this hour.

When the UT shepherds came to take him away, I walked a few steps with him and told him there was a kid in the lobby, wearing his jersey and waiting since early morning. I know he had to have heard that from several sources. “I love that,” Arch said.

Then he spied two rubber bracelets I was wearing, imprinted with words from Psalm 37: Trust God, Do Good, And He Will Act.”

“I’ve gotta get me some of those,” Arch said.

I offered mine up and Manning said, “No, no you don’t need to.”

I told him to take them, that I had more. He took them and we shook hands. The UT PR guy was pulling on him.

Ten minutes later, I got a text from the parents of the young Manning fan in the lobby. Arch had gone behind the ropes and taken more than a few pictures, signed Connor’s cap and his prized jersey.

Wrote his mom: He loved it. He had the biggest grin on his face ever!

Sometimes, some things are worth the wait.

(TLSN’s Larry Carlson is a member of the Football Writers Association of America. He teaches sports media at Texas State University and lives in San Antonio.)