Alabama landing Eli Holstein helps Texas football with Arch Manning

Big news arrived on the recruiting trail late in the morning of May 24 that will impact the Texas football program in the race to land a commitment from the elite five-star Isidore Newman quarterback Arch Manning. One of the top competitors on the recruiting trail in the Arch sweepstakes just landed another quarterback commitment that might hurt their shot with Manning.

Head coach Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide landed a big-time commitment from the former Texas A&M Aggies pledge and four-star Zachary (LA) quarterback Eli Holstein. He announced on his Twitter timeline late in the morning of May 24 that he committed to the Crimson Tide over the Aggies, LSU Tigers, and Florida Gators, among others.

The fellow Louisiana product Holstein was figured to be firmly on Alabama’s radar once he de-committed from Texas A&M back in mid-March. But it was hard to tell how much the Crimson Tide would push for Holstein knowing that they were firmly involved in the mix for Arch this spring.

Alabama landing 4-Star QB Eli Holstein boosts Texas football’s chances with Arch Manning

Yet, we now have our answer of who the Crimson Tide could be signing as their top quarterback in the 2023 recruiting class.

Now, it is worth asking the question of whether Alabama landing a commitment from Holstein means they’re essentially out of the competition for Arch at this point.

I wouldn’t ever say I would eliminate Alabama in any recruitment they’re taking seriously. Thus, they could still be in the mix for Arch. Alabama also still has an official visit on the books with Manning in just a couple of weeks.

But you’d be foolish to say that Alabama landing Holstein does nothing in terms of their shot with Arch. Of course Alabama hurt their chances with Arch by getting a commitment from Holstein.

This is something that naturally will help the Longhorns with Arch. Alabama was presumed to be in a top group of three schools along with Texas and the Georgia Bulldogs this spring in the race to land the commitment of Manning.

It now looks like Texas and Georgia are now likely to set the pace with Arch heading into the summer. Arch has official visits on the books with both Texas (June 17) and Georgia (June 10). It remains to be seen if he will keep his June 10 official visit with Alabama after this Holstein news.

All in all, you can see the impact that Holstein committing to Alabama has on their chances with Arch in the On3 recruiting prediction machine. The On3 RPM now has Texas as the favorite to land Arch’s commitment, with a 51.7 percent chance, compared to a 45.3 percent chance for Georgia to get his pledge.

The time looks to be now for second-year head coach Steve Sarkisian, quarterbacks coach AJ Milwee, and the Longhorns to strike for Arch. If he’s planning a summer or early fall decision, Texas will wind up having an extremely crucial official visit with him next month.

Either way you spin it, though, it goes without saying how crucial the official visit from June 17-19 with Arch is for Texas.

Texas currently holds commitments from five recruits in the 2023 class, with the highest rated being the four-star Aldine Eisenhower (TX) wide receiver Ryan Niblett. There could be a big summer ahead on the recruiting trail for Sark and the Longhorns, though, especially with Arch scheduled for an official visit next month.