Steve Sarkisian: Arch Manning is like grandfather Archie

When the average football fan in 2025 thinks about the Mannings, a new member of the family may come to mind: Texas Longhorns starting quarterback Arch Manning.

Arch will be quickly followed by his famous uncles, Pro Football Hall of Famer Peyton Manning and Eli Manning, of course, but the younger quarterback of the Manning Football Family is at the forefront of football fans’ minds.

He’s taking over a Texas team that went 13-3 last season and made a run to the College Football Playoff semifinal before losing to the eventual national champion, Ohio State.

Sure, the Longhorns are losing some key players to the NFL, including quarterback Quinn Ewers and wideout Matthew Golden, but Texas feels it’s reloading, not retooling, because Manning is taking over the helm.

He’s the former No. 1 overall recruit in the 2023 class, and glimpses of him as a backup to Ewers over the past two seasons would suggest he has superstar capability.

Not only that, but he looks the part, per Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian.

“I think there’s something that’s unique about Arch. You can watch him throw, and you see when you get up on him in person, man, he’s a bigger guy than maybe people think. When you watch him throw, the arm talent and the deep ball is there,” Sarkisian recently told Pete Thamel of ESPN. 

What Arch has that perhaps his uncles didn’t is surprising athleticism for his size, though, per Sarkisian.

“Then you watch him move and you’re like, wait, this guy’s a better athlete than I thought. Definitely got grandpa’s gene. It’s not the uncles, he got grandpa’s gene,” Sarkisian said.

Arch’s grandfather is the patriarch of the Manning family and the younger quarterback’s namesake: Archie Manning. 

The eldest Manning quarterback didn’t have the NFL career of his sons, with four Super Bowl wins between Peyton and Eli, but he was an extremely decorated college quarterback at Ole Miss.

He was the 1969 SEC Player of the Year, and he also won the Walter Camp Memorial Trophy, which goes to the most outstanding player in college football. He threw for 4,753 yards and 31 touchdowns at Ole Miss over three seasons (though he also threw 40 interceptions), and he also rushed for 823 yards and 25 touchdowns on the ground.

That ability on the ground is what Arch Manning also has. He rushed for four touchdowns last season as a backup and provided the Longhorns with almost a “wildcat” look at times in big moments.

He won’t be the “wildcat” this season, but he will get ample chance to show of the genes that his grandpa passed on to him.