Arch Manning isn’t interested in chasing a family-name trophy right now, and he made that point in the bluntest way possible.
When a reporter asked whether winning the Manning Award is a goal this season, the Texas quarterback didn’t dance around it. “Uh nah, nah, no, hell no, that’s not my goal for this season,” he said.
The room broke up laughing at how quickly he shut the question down. That reaction made sense: the Manning Award is named for the Manning family and goes annually to the nation’s top college quarterback.
It was created by the Allstate Sugar Bowl to recognize Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning. Arch is on the 2026 preseason watch list, and he was a finalist last year after a strong Citrus Bowl.
Still, the award that carries his last name clearly isn’t what he’s chasing.
His focus is on getting Texas back to the College Football Playoff, with individual hardware taking a back seat. After taking over for Quinn Ewers, Manning finished 2025 with 3,163 passing yards and 26 touchdown throws.
He also ran for 399 yards and 10 scores. Nineteen of his 36 total touchdowns came in the final six games, when Texas won seven of its last eight after a rough start.
Over that stretch, he threw 15 touchdowns and only two picks. Texas also beat Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Michigan in the Citrus Bowl.
Steve Sarkisian has spent the offseason calling Manning a dangerous player, and the Texas coach said Manning learned from the criticism he faced last year. Sarkisian also pointed to his growing connection with new receivers Cam Coleman, Ryan Wingo and Emmett Mosley.
The buzz around Manning hasn’t slowed. Some draft analysts still project him as a top 2027 pick, while ESPN ranked him the No. 6 quarterback nationally rather than putting him in the top five.
He’s heard all of it before. Grandfather Archie Manning has said people crowned Arch too early, and Arch has kept steering the conversation back to football.
At SEC Media Days, he said he isn’t worried about the future right now.
Texas opens against Texas State before hosting Ohio State in Week 2, a rematch that will show whether last year’s late-season surge can carry over. Manning is also on several other watch lists, including the Davey O’Brien and Maxwell awards, but none of that changed the tone of his answer.
He wants wins in Austin, not another family trophy in New Orleans.
In Other News...
Texas Finally Gets A Real Jonah Williams Decision In Camp
Jonah Williams has spent much of his Texas career fighting his way back onto the field, and fall camp finally gave the Longhorns a clearer look at what he can offer. The sophomore safety has worked through a broken collarbone, hamstring issues and shoulder surgery in March, then returned through rehab to rejoin football and start showing the kind of physicality and versatility that made him such an intriguing piece coming out of the offseason.
Williams still has plenty to sort out in a crowded safety room, but his presence gives Texas another option in a competition that should be decided on more than reputation alone. He has also been contributing on special teams, which matters for a player trying to carve out a role while the Longhorns continue sorting who can help right now and who can help most when the games start counting. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Fans Have The Perfect Response To Ndamukong Suhs Colt McCoy Shot
Ndamukong Suh stirred up an old Texas-Nebraska memory this week by dropping a video in which he ranked his favorite quarterbacks to hit, and Colt McCoy landed at No. 5. For Longhorn fans, the choice immediately reopened a familiar chapter from the Big 12 days, when McCoy was leading Texas and Suh was one of the most feared defenders in the country at Nebraska.
The timing only made the reaction sharper because Texas owned that matchup during Suhs college career, winning all three meetings between the schools, including the 2009 Big 12 Championship game. Suh put up five sacks in that one and still watched Nebraska come up short again, which is why Longhorn fans were more than ready with their own response to the latest shot at McCoy. [Read more 🡒]
Arch Manning Now Faces The Pressure Texas Fans Saw Coming
Arch Manning spent the first month of the 2025 season looking like a quarterback still learning on the job, but he settled in as the year went on and helped Texas finish strong, capped by a Citrus Bowl win. That late-season growth changed the tone around him pretty quickly. What had been a rocky start ended with a glimpse of why the Longhorns invested so much belief in his future, and why every step forward still carries more weight in Austin.
Sports Illustrated recently put Manning at No. 17 on its list of college football players with the most to prove and gain in 2026, a reminder that the next stage is about more than flashes and promise. Texas did its part to make the path easier by adding receiver Cam Coleman, and the roster still features difference-makers like Colin Simmons, giving Manning a stronger supporting cast as he tries to turn progress into consistency. The pressure was always going to come with the name, and now it comes with a season that raised expectations rather than easing them. [Read more 🡒]