Arch Manning is just like the rest of us.
Not because the redshirt junior quarterback for the Texas Longhorns tries to live as normally as possible — it’s because when Manning recently watched the high school highlights of his new teammate Jermaine Bishop, an early enrollee wide receiver out of Willis, the star quarterback’s reaction was the same as everyone else who has seen Bishop’s exploits during a legendary high school career that is quickly reaching mythological status.
“I was at my house the
other night with my roommates watching his high school highlight tape. I mean, he has like 80 touchdowns from like 70 yards out. It’s incredible,” Manning said in April.
Technically, Bishop *merely* scored 72 total touchdowns on offense during a stellar high school career during which he became Houston area’s all-time leading receiver, but Manning certainly deserves forgiveness for the mild exaggeration, especially considering that Bishop scored another five touchdowns on kick returns, punt returns, and interception returns.
It’s hard to keep track of that many and how long they all were.
Manning had to see more of what his new teammate is about after the Willis product created some real buzz after arriving on the Forty Acres in January.
“He’s a really good player. Smart, wants to be good. That’s kind of the big thing with that freshman class is I look around, all these guys are hard workers. They want to be good, coachable, so it’s been fun,” Manning said.
The 6’0, 165-pounder catches the attention of anyone who sees him in action. On Early Signing Day, general manager Brandon Harris named Bishop as his instant-impact newcomer in the 2026 class and former NFL standout Dez Bryant raved about Bishop this spring, too.
For Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian, Bishop’s overall skill set is about much more than purely physical attributes.
“The thing about Jermaine is he loves football. He’s got a high football IQ. He’s a tremendous DB as well. And so I think his understanding of the offense for a true freshman coming out of a spring is very impressive. He’s a guy that can play outside and in the slot. In different scrimmages, he was making big-time plays,” Sarkisian said in an appearance on SEC Now.
Bishop was also electric in the spring-ending open practice, highlighted by a 40-yard touchdown reception up the seam in 7-on-7 work.
It’s not just Bishop’s speed and fluidity that seem so effortless — look at how easily he’s able to track this ball over his shoulder and make the catch at full stride.
During spring practice, Bishop took advantage of the opportunities provided by Ryan Wingo and Emmett Mosley undergoing postseason surgeries, and Kaliq Lockett’s own surgery in late March.
“We limited Ryan Wingo this spring. We limited Emmett Mosley this spring. And so Jermaine got more opportunities. He took advantage of those opportunities, and he’s earning the trust of the of the coaching staff and the quarterbacks,” Sarkisian said.
With Bishop making an impact on offense over the 15 spring practices, it’s easy to forget how big of a storyline it was that the Longhorns hadn’t made a decision about whether Bishop would play wide receiver or defensive back when he signed with Texas in December as the No. 2 athlete and No. 13 player overall in the 247Sports rankings.
Despite all the hype surrounding Bishop now as summer approaches, the reality is that significant playing time is going to be hard to come by — Sarkisian and wide receivers coach Chris Jackson have employed short rotations at the position during their time in Austin and the top-level talent at the position is elite, including Wingo, Mosley, and Cam Coleman.
Even veterans like Wake Forest transfer Sebastian Berkhalter and Daylan McCutcheon are still likely ahead of Bishop on the depth chart.
But even if Bishop doesn’t burst onto the scene this fall, it’s only a matter of time until he does.
