Texas fans have been waiting on Arch Manning since before he ever took a real snap for the program. He showed up in Austin in 2023 as the No. 1 recruit in the country, and with a last name like Manning, that hype came baked in before he'd thrown a pass. Texas did what most programs do with a five-star freshman behind an established starter, they redshirted him. Nobody made a fuss about it. That's just how it's done.
2024 was the weird year. Manning backed up Quinn Ewers and mostly played when games were already decided, which meant every single snap he got turned into a moment people picked apart online. It's a strange spot to be in, famous enough that garbage-time reps trend on Twitter, not playing enough to actually prove anything yet.
Then 2025 happened, and he finally got the job full-time. It didn't start smooth. Through his first five starts he went 3-2, throwing 11 touchdowns against 5 picks, fine, not the Heisman-caliber stuff everyone had promised for two years. But he settled in. Over his last seven starts he went 6-1 with 13 touchdowns and only 2 interceptions, and finished the year at 2,942 passing yards, 24 total passing touchdowns, and another 8 rushing scores. Texas went 9-3, beat a ranked, previously unbeaten Texas A&M team to close the season, and just missed the Playoff.
That's the part that made his next decision interesting. Manning could've declared for the 2026 NFL Draft, some people had him as a possible No. 1 overall pick with only 14 career starts to his name. He didn't. His dad Cooper told ESPN he was coming back to Texas, which honestly tracks with the family pattern. Peyton, Eli, and Archie all did the same thing, stuck around for one more year instead of bolting the second the NFL came calling.
Sarkisian's explanation was pretty simple: the kid got noticeably better as last season went on, not just as a player but in how he carried himself, and another year gives him more tape and more experience before he has to answer to NFL scouts for real.
So right now, in 2026, Manning's a redshirt junior, his second season as the starter, and probably his last year of college ball. He's already the betting favorite to go No. 1 in the 2027 draft. The name's been getting hyped since he was in high school. This season's kind of the last chance to make the résumé match it.
