Jan 1, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) warms up before the Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images

You can easily say that no college football player receives as much attention and hype as Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning. Back in the preseason, Manning was the name that you usually saw at the very top of most NFL mock drafts out there.

As the season has progressed, some of the hoopla has subsided a little. The hype subsided a little when his grandfather, NFL legend Archie Manning, made public his belief that Arch will not enter the draft after this season.

Still, as Arch is the nephew of Eli and Peyton Manning, a consistently substantial media circus is obviously inevitable. It's hard to think of any incoming collegiate recruit who entered his freshman season with as much build-up as he did, and that all got turned up in his first season as a starter.

Through it all, Manning remains grounded and down to Earth. That's according to his go-to receiver, sensational sophomore Ryan Wingo.

“Arch is just a good dude to be around,” Wingo said in an exclusive with Ratings.org.

“You don’t really get that a lot. He just carries himself as one of us. The media puts him on a pedestal, but he’s just a cool dude to be around. He just makes it like he’s one of us.

"But at the same time, he’s not going to let any of that stuff affect how he acts towards us. He’s going to act the same way he’s been acting, even if they weren’t putting him on that pedestal.”

Wingo is obviously someone who knows Manning well, so you can certainly take his word here.

It's refreshing to hear that Manning has not let all the fame go to his head. Especially so in this day and age when social media amplifies anything and everything. That may be the key to Manning's developing into all that he can be- staying grounded and focused. Not getting ahead of himself; which could be challenging, given the persistent over-hyping of everything that he does.

Manning started the season slowly, but the highly heralded junior QB has progressed as summer turned to autumn. He lit up the stat sheet against Arkansas today, throwing for 389 yards and four touchdowns, against no interceptions, good for a 92.1 QBR.

As his play has steadied throughout the campaign, his numbers have improved. He's throwing 19 touchdowns against seven interceptions, while completing 62.7% of his passes, at a 7.6 yards per pass average, for 2,374 yards.

This article originally appeared on Draft Wire: Arch Manning doesn't let the fame get to his head, says teammate

Reporting by Paul M. Banks, Draft Wire / Draft Wire

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