Texas quarterback Arch Manning was ranked as the No. 1 quarterback prospect of the 2026 NFL Draft class in a Wednesday episode of ESPN's First Draft with Mel Kiper Jr. and Field Yates.

Twenty-seven years ago when ESPN The Magazine debuted with its "NEXT" cover highlighting the athletes poised to become the future faces of their respective sports, it featured a 25-year-old Kordell Stewart already three years into his NFL career.

More than 50 years ago, Archie Manning, then a junior at Ole Miss, knocked the college football world sideways. On an October evening in 1969, Manning strode into Birmingham, Alabama, and proceeded to throw for 436 yards and two touchdowns and rush for three more against Bear Bryant and mighty Alabama.