High school football has returned.It's back.
We're back.We've made it to our first Football Friday of 2026, folks.High school football returned around the country last night, and really kicks off tonight.
College football is next week.The NFL is two weeks after that.Thanks to the WNBA for holding it down this summer and giving us something to pass the time, but the king has returned.
Your watch has ended.With high school football, of course, comes the names.Like Marshall Manning, the freshman QB son of someone named Peyton Manning.ARCH MANNING'S NFL STAR GRANDFATHER LAMENTS HYPE AROUND TEXAS QUARTERBACKBaylor's Marshall Manning (16) gets in position against Brentwood Academy during the first half at Baylor in Chattanooga, Tenn., on Thursday, Aug.
20, 2026.(USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect)Marshall made his debut Thursday night for Baylor School — a private, college prep school in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
The game was televised on ESPN2, and also featured arguably the best player in the country in running back David Gabriel Georges.And while Manning's debut went viral on social media because, well, he's a Manning, it was Gabriel Georges who absolutely stole the show.What a specimen:How great is high school football? So much to break down there.For starters ...how about Marshall Manning's first career completion going to a kid named Cornbread Adams? How lucky are we to live in this country? God, I love it.And yes, Manning is just a freshman and will play sparingly and was just in briefly last night to get his feet wet.
I get it.But, it's Marshall Manning.
This is the kid they've been hyping up for a few years now, in the same way they did Archie.Baylor's David Gabriel Georges (0) is tripped up by Brentwood Academy's Hill Strong (7) and Braylen Bedford (8) during the first half in Chattanooga, Tenn., on Thursday, Aug.20, 2026.
(USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect)I think the pressure on both is insane, by the way, but it comes with the last name.It's n...