- NCAA. Arch Manning already knows who will replace him at Texas if he can't meet the Heisman hype
- NCAA. Arch Manning receives strong message from a former Heisman Trophy winner amid doubts over his Texas career
The Arch Manning era is dawning at the University of Texas. After consecutive College Football Playoff exits at the semifinal stage, Texas is hoping that Manning -- the nephew of two former NFL quarterbacks -- can be the guy to lead the Longhorns to a national championship, which would be the program's first since 2005.
Manning has been sitting behind Quinn Ewers for two years in Austin, waiting for his chance to take the reins of the Longhorns offense. After giving fans a glimpse of his abilities while Ewers missed time with an injury in 2024, Manning has been tipped as a possible Heisman Trophy winner -- an award that has not been bestowed on a Texas player for more than a quarter-century.
Sarkisian comments on Manning's leadership
Speaking to NFL Network from the Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian discussed Manning's growth in the early weeks of this offseason -- and he made Longhorns fans smile by expressing the strongest confidence in the 19-year-old phenom.
"We're watching him in winter workouts and offseason stuff really becoming the leader of the team, like the quarterback has to be," Sarkisian said. "And he has such a great personality that I think his teammates really respond to him, the coaches have started to respond to him. So I think things are off to a really good start for him."
Arch Manning's youth and inexperience have created certain doubts that the nephew of former NFL stars Peyton and Eli can meet the sky-high expectations that have followed him since high school. But a quarterback with rare, dynamic playmaking abilities is growing in confidence and producing a domino effect around the championship-starved program.
Manning is at least a year away from being eligible to enter the NFL Draft, where he has already been touted as a possible #1 pick. But any talk of the draft and combine drills will have to wait for a while longer as Manning tries to fulfill his national title mission at Texas. So far, it sounds like he is on the right track.