‘This is what he's supposed to do': Arch Manning finally steps into the spotlight

NBC Sports

18 hours ago

Ahmed Fareed, Nicole Auerbach and Joshua Perry debate if the College Football Playoff should expand once again, discussing what went well in the first-ever 12-team playoff and what is concerning amid expansion talks.
ATLANTA — Arch Manning's day started, as it always does, with a text from his grandfather.
Archie, the patriarch of the first family of quarterbacks, texts all his grandkids every morning. A Bible verse, a motivational message, that sort of thing. Ahead of Arch's appearance at SEC media days here, he received this bit of advice: Keep it short and sweet, and be thoughtful.
Oh, and Archie signed the text with his own name. Very much a grandpa move.
When you have relatives like Arch does — his grandfather is a former NFL quarterback and College Football Hall of Famer, and both uncles, Peyton and Eli, won multiple Super Bowls — you've got a lot of avenues for advice if you need it. They're also the reason that the hype around Arch has reached a fever pitch in the months leading into the 2025 college football season, his first as the full-time starter for the Longhorns.
Manning waited two years for this opportunity. He did something that's essentially unheard of as a five-star, can't-miss quarterback prospect in the 2020s — he sat on the bench for two seasons, backing up Quinn Ewers. Manning didn't enter the transfer portal. He didn't post cryptic tweets. He just worked hard to learn the offense, earning his teammates' trust and preparing him for when he had to fill in for Ewers when he was injured in the middle of last season. But, of course, the job was Ewers' when he was back and even when he was playing through pain, all the way through Texas' run to the national semifinals of the College Football Playoff.
'We've had those cold tub conversations where it's like, 'Dude, I just want to be the guy,' all that pent-up, I-want-to-be-the-guy emotions,' Texas safety Michael Taaffe said on my SiriusXM show on Tuesday. 'He gets to show it this year. It's going to be exciting.'
The Man(ning) of the Hour is, indeed, ready. He gained valuable experience in his two starts last year, against Louisiana-Monroe and Mississippi State, and his five-touchdown performance in relief of Ewers vs. UTSA.
'It was a little bit of the perfect storm last year,' Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. 'The first time he got put into action — Quinn hurts his oblique, it was against UTSA — and he gets thrown right in. And I was like, 'Screw it. We're calling kind of a movement, let him let it rip.' He throws a touchdown, bam. He plays the rest of that game as if he were a true backup getting put in.'
Manning then spent the next two weeks preparing as the regular starter, getting 'a sense and feel for what that looked like,' per Sarkisian. And then he was forced to do the same even after Ewers' return, because Ewers was battling his ongoing oblique and high ankle injuries. Sarkisian said it was hard on Manning, who had to be ready each week down the stretch and into the CFP to take 70 snaps if necessary. Mentally, that required quite an effort. And then when Ewers started and took the lion's share of the snaps in the season's biggest moments, Manning still had to be ready to jump in at a moment's notice for various in-game packages designed for him.
But those hard moments molded him into the quarterback he is now, ready to grab the reins of an offense that should be among the country's best — and to lead a team that expects to contend for a national championship.
'I just think he's ready,' Sarkisian said. 'It feels like this is what he's supposed to do.'
Nicole Auerbach,
Manning feels similarly. The 6-4 signal-caller has not wavered in his commitment to Texas, despite a crowded quarterback room.
'The biggest thing was Texas was where I wanted to be,' Manning said. 'I didn't want to go somewhere I didn't want to be, and I liked Texas. I liked the football program. I liked classes. I liked my friends outside of football. I liked the city of Austin. So it was going to take a lot for me to leave this place. I also knew I was developing as a backup. I was getting better, so that was big for me. I'm still getting better. I knew my time would come eventually.'
And here he is, heading into Year 3 at the same place, in the same offensive system alongside one of the most creative playcallers in all of college football in Sarkisian. He's far more athletic (and faster) than his uncles were, which creates opportunities for designed quarterback runs as well. Expectations are understandably high; Manning, with all of two college starts to his name, is the preseason odds-on favorite to win the Heisman Trophy.
For his part, Manning has handled all of the attention admirably. He's even-keeled and calm but also quick-witted and funny. He's won over teammates just like he wins over most rooms, Sarkisian said.
'People to kind of gravitate to him, and I don't think it's because of his last name,' Sarkisian said. 'I just think that that's his personality. That's coming out more. And the other side I've seen him grow along the same lines is — have you ever noticed that when he scores, the dude has, like, real swag? That's not fabricated. That it's coming out of him now, I love it. I know that's just him being free and being himself and playing a game.'
As Manning has become more himself most of the time, he's also worked just as hard to earn his teammates' respect and grow as a leader. He feels like he needs to do that at every practice and in every meeting. Because although he's the most famous college football player in the country and certain pundits want to hand him the Heisman here in July, he hasn't actually achieved anything yet. So, he'll keep working.
'I have to continue to prove that I can move the ball forward and run the offense,' Manning said. 'You know, the rent's due every day. You've got to prove it each day.'