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Arch Manning on Matthew McConaughey's presence at Texas: 'I'm in his shadow'

IMG_6598by:Nick Kosko•07/15/25•

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Arch Manning on Matthew McConaughey's presence at Texas: 'I'm in his shadow'
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Arch Manning knows Matthew McConaughey looms large at the University of Texas. The famous actor and entertainer is consistently on the Longhorns’ sideline.

Manning, who’s pretty popular nationwide in his own right, isn’t as big as the actor. He acknowledged that himself at SEC Media Days.

Manning even said he’s in McConaughey’s “shadow.” Unless he completely stops doing movies, perhaps the young quarterback will still be there, he joked.

“We got a couple famous people in Austin. We got McConaughey rolling around,” Manning said. “So, I’m in his shadow.”

It’s a new year for Manning with a fresh perspective. He actually learned a great deal over the course of his last two seasons, despite only garnering some playing time and two official starts.

“I think growing as a leader for me last year and the year before,” Manning said. “I was kind of just trying to find my role in the offense, but now kind of taking control of the whole team … I think greatness you have to be a leader and you have to win games. I think being a winner comes with greatness and so I’m gonna try to do both of those here.”

Manning and Texas will open the season at Ohio State on August 30th in a marquee game to begin the year. If you think the hype around Manning is high now, it’ll reach unprecedented levels with a Week 1 win over the Buckeyes on the road.

Manning will take over as the starting quarterback for Texas this year with national championship and Heisman Trophy expectations. Leading up to it, he wouldn’t have changed a thing.

“I think the main thing was I wanted to be at the University of Texas,” Manning said at SEC Media Days. “There’s nowhere else I wanted to be, whether it was the school itself, Austin, my friends, the football program. So as long as I was continuing to get better at football and like where I was at, it was a no-brainer for me to stay.”