Arch Manning emphasizes need to 'walk the walk' in his new role at Texas

Arch Manning understands there’s a lot of hype surrounding his college career as he enters his first year as the starting QB at Texas. You can’t just expect him to walk on the field and be the best quarterback in college football, he has to earn it.

That’s the mentality Manning is taking this year after sitting behind Quinn Ewers for two seasons. Manning got more action last season, but now has the weight of the Longhorns on his shoulders.

The former No. 1 overall recruit in the Class of 2023 came into college football with a career trajectory rivaled by few. And now, it’s Manning’s time to prove it once and for all.

“I think you got to walk the walk first,” Manning said. “I think as much as it wasn’t always fun to sit in those two years, I think I got a lot of respect for my teammates, coming out of this from a place of love, not just being a turd.”

Manning has Heisman Trophy hype, No. 1 overall pick hype and national championship hype. This is all for a QB, albeit with a lot of talent, with a famous name due to his father Cooper and of course, his uncles Peyton and Eli. 

Head coach Steve Sarkisian hopes he can keep his QB for more than just the 2025 season as a starter. There’s no guarantee Manning will declare for the draft after the season even if he plays very well. Although, it’d be hard not to especially if he lives up to the aforementioned hype.

Spiderman’s “Uncle Ben” said.

“I just want the guy to have a really good season this year, and we’ll cross that bridge when he comes to it,” Sarkisian said. “I hope he has a really hard decision to make, because that means he played really good.”

Manning might be easy going and not worried about the expectations and hype, but that won’t stop others from talking. ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky mentioned that the young Manning QB has to be great at this point if the hype train keeps rolling.

“(Arch Manning) absolutely has to be the best quarterback, because they are the favorite in Texas to win the national championship,” Orlovsky proclaimed, via Get Up on Monday. “No. 2, the best quarterback in the country that no one talks about is in Columbia, South Carolina. LaNorris Sellers. I would agree that probably the best quarterback in the country now, right now, is Garrett Nussmeier.

“Arch Manning is more than likely going to be awesome, but we don’t know about Arch Manning. I’ve seen Nuss, late in games, 3rd-and-9, have to make a big throw and get it done. I watched the LaNorris Sellers finish with four straight wins for South Carolina in the SEC, and go for over 300 yards a game.

“I think Arch has got this expectation, and there’s probably no quarterback in the country under more pressure than Arch Manning. But there are five or six other quarterbacks that are much more proven, at least right now in college football.”