LSU Football: Rivals analyst doesn’t view Arch Manning as top 2023 QB recruit

One of LSU football‘s biggest 2023 recruiting targets is undoubtedly five-star quarterback Arch Manning.

Manning, 6-foot-4/200 lbs from New Orleans, LA (Isidore Newman), is ranked in 247Sports’ composite rankings as the No. 1 pro-style quarterback in the country and the No. 3 overall player in the 2023 recruiting class.

The Louisiana native’s impressive skills at the quarterback position, combined with his proximity to Baton Rouge, are two of the obvious reasons that Manning is one of LSU’s top 2023 recruiting targets.

But is Manning the best quarterback in the 2023 recruiting class?

Rivals analyst believe there’s a 2023 quarterback better than Arch Manning

A pair of Rivals analysts recently dished on the top quarterbacks in the 2023 recruiting cycle.

Sam Spiegelman and Adam Gorney, who cover recruiting for Rivals.com, are both fans of Manning.

Gorney, in particular, likes five-star quarterback Malachi Nelson a bit better.

“I appreciate all of Arch Manning’s abilities and his family connections but Nelson’s abilities fit perfectly with what the quarterback of the future looks like,” says Gorney. “I still lean his way as the No. 1 QB in the class.”

Spiegelman doesn’t necessarily have Manning or Nelson alone at No. 1 — he sees this battle raging on throughout the summer.

“After seeing both Nelson and Manning in person, it’s clear that these two signal-callers are at the top of the class and in rarified air,” says Spiegelman.

“This has the feel of another Trevor Lawrence-Justin Fields or Bryce Young-D.J. Uiagalelei atop the rankings,” added Spiegelman.

LSU is pursuing both quarterbacks, though it appears that Nelson is leaning toward Oklahoma.

If the Tigers miss on Manning and Nelson, they’ll likely turn to four-star quarterback Eli Holstein, a Louisiana native from Zachary, LA.