“And He Said Adam Gase Was a Good Coach”: Peyton Manning’s Recent Claim About Arch Manning and Garrett Nussmeier Gets Shot Down by Fans

Arch Manning and Garrett Nussmeier are two of the most promising quarterback prospects in college football today. Both are highly touted and widely expected to be first-round picks in the 2026 NFL Draft, of course, if they choose to declare. Recently, Peyton Manning hosted them at his annual passing academy and walked away impressed with what he saw. But… despite the Hall of Famer’s praise, fans aren’t so easily convinced.

The Manning Passing Academy is a yearly offseason tradition that showcases some of the top quarterback talent on the verge of entering the NFL. This year, Arch and Nussmeier made the trip and put on a show for Peyton.

After the event, Peyton even mentioned that Arch made a throw he doesn’t think he could have ever made.

“I’m excited to watch Arch play. He threw the ball really well at the camp. He and Garrett Nussmeier at our three throwing expeditions really threw the ball well — all the quarterbacks throw the ball well. It’s impressive,” Manning said on The Pat McAfee Show.

“They make throws that I can’t even think about making. Arch made a throw the other day that I’d have to hit the cutoff man to get the ball to the actual receiver,” he added.

They’re high remarks coming from one of the greatest to ever play the position. Peyton threw for over 71,000 career yards across 18 seasons, and many believed there wasn’t a throw he couldn’t make. But he would argue otherwise.

Still, not everyone was ready to take Peyton’s praise at face value. In response to his comments, fans online were quick to pump the brakes. One even pointed to his past endorsement of Adam Gase as a reason to be skeptical.

“Yeah, and he said Adam Gase was a good coach,” they wrote.

It’s a glaring remark that continues to stain Peyton’s scouting resume. When former coach and offensive coordinator of Peyton, Adam Gase, was hired as the Jets’ head coach, the Hall of Famer said he thought it would be a good fit for newly minted QB Sam Darnold.

Well, we all know how that turned out. The Jets went 9-23 over the next two seasons under Gase, and both he and Darnold were off the team by 2021. It was a disaster hire from the start, that had no chance of succeeding.

That’s why other fans remained doubtful despite Peyton’s claim.

“Yeah, because u throw ducks now, Peyton. But I’m sure there’s not a throw he can make that Peyton couldn’t make when he was GOATed for those seasons,” one wrote sarcastically.

“If Arch doesn’t look like a future HOFer this season, sh*t gonna get ugly on here,” another posted.

However, some were excited by Peyton’s claims and hoped that their team would sign either Arch or Nussmeier.

“If the QBs for the @Colts flop this season, I wouldn’t mind seeing Nussmeier as the next RND. 1 pick for us since we’d probably be moving on from AR…” a fan suggested.

“Hopefully one is a Steeler,” another hoped.

Both the Colts and Steelers could use a reformation at the quarterback position. The former is testing out Daniel Jones due to Anthony Richardson’s struggles, while the latter just signed a 41-year-old who has already said this will be his final season. A young, fresh face with an exciting skill set would be a welcome addition for either situation next year.

But for now, Arch still needs to prove himself and live up to the hype. He briefly stepped in last season when Quinn Ewers was injured and looked promising. Let’s see if he can grow into the young phenom everyone expects him to be. After all, he has Manning blood coursing through his veins; there’s got to be an ultimate competitor in there somewhere.