Arch Manning made no decision on leaving Texas early for the 2026 NFL Draft, but the notion that he’s guaranteed to be with the Longhorns the next two years is false, he says.
Two weeks after his grandfather, Archie Manning, warned NFL teams not to tank for his grandson, Arch Manning cleared the air. Archie Manning previously said, definitively to Texas Monthly, that Arch would not leave Texas early for professional stardom.
“Yeah, I don’t know where he got that from,” Manning said. “He texted me and apologized about that. I’m really just taking it day by day, right now.”
Most early NFL Draft prognosticators believe Manning is off the board for 2026, but that’s no guarantee. CBS Sports previously reported the general feeling inside the Texas program was that Manning would be the starter for the next two seasons, following his family’s history — both of his uncles, Peyton and Eli, stayed in college for four years at Tennessee and Ole Miss, respectively.
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian has not entertained questions surrounding Manning’s future.
“What I know is what I see every day, and he seems good to me,” Sarkisian said in review of Manning’s preseason camp showing thus far. “You know, we visit a fair amount to make sure that what frame of mind is he in, where I think he performs the best. This is going to be a long season, and unfortunately, we live in a world of he’s the greatest ever, or is going to be a bust. And there’s not a lot of in between. And it’s kind of like where we are as a team. We’re either going to be national champs or we’re going to be a bust.
“Like, that’s the mentality outside of our building. We don’t really think that way. I don’t think Arch thinks that way. I think Arch thinks about, ‘what am I doing today to improve? What am I doing today to be the best teammate I can be when the game weeks roll around? What am I doing to prepare to put myself in the best position to perform?’ I just don’t think he’s that concerned.”
Manning, a former five-star and top player in the 2023 recruiting cycle per 247Sports, started two games last season with Quinn Ewers nursing a shoulder injury. Manning threw for 223 yards and four touchdowns on nine completions during a 56-7 win over UTSA, tossed a pair of touchdowns in his first start against ULM and recorded his first SEC win vs. Mississippi State prior to Ewers’ return to the lineup.
His only snaps in the College Football Playoff during wins over Clemson and a loss to Ohio State came in four short-yardage situations as a run threat only.
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