Arch Manning is as cool as the other side of the pillow in pre-Sugar Bowl interview

NEW ORLEANS – By far the most coveted interviewee at No. 3 Texas’ portion of Media Day at the Allstate Sugar Bowl on Saturday was the Longhorns’ erstwhile backup quarterback Arch Manning, a player who’s seen only a handful of snaps this season and none until the Black Friday win over Texas Tech.

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But Manning is different – and that difference showed up in spades as two dozen reporters crowded to be close enough to hear the responses from the precocious 18-year old who grew up 10 minutes from the Caesars Superdome in the Big Easy. 

He was as cool as the other side of the pillow. But that comes as no surprise.

It was the first time during the Longhorns run to the College Football Playoff semifinal that Manning was available to the media, and the collective group was in a feeding frenzy to get the hometown son of football royalty’s take on all things Texas.

Through it all, Manning handled the crush with aplomb, as befitting a player who’s used to the spotlight even if he’s been out of it for the 2023 season.

“I’ve been kind of under the radar,” Manning joked. A reporter corrected him – Manning’s been more unavailable and ever under the radar. “I talked to my dad and my grandfather. My grandfather always likes to say in interviews less is best. Sorry about that guys.”

Manning said not being on the field and waiting his turn has been an adjustment.

“In high school I never was a backup,” he said. “So this year being second or third string you get to kind of be behind and learn a lot from other guys and try to stay patient. I think I’ve learned a lot.

“You have to take a lot of mental reps and just try to prepare knowing that there’s a good chance you might not play but there’s also a chance you may play. So a lot of it is mental and it takes some time. But I think it’ll be worth it.”

That learning experience has been far from easy, from just adapting to college life as an early enrollee, to feeling comfortable with the speed of the game at this level and to learning to be ready to produce in Texas coach Steve Sarkisian’s offense.

“Luckily, they’re pretty hard on you when you first get there, and it’s good – you learn a lot,” Manning said. “I feel like from a year ago, when I first got there, I’ve developed so much. They push you and they want what’s best for you. So that’s been fun.”

Yes, Manning was the top-rated recruit in the class of 2023 and he carries the quarterback lineage of his famous grandfather Archie Manning and uncles Peyton and Eli Manning. He proudly carries on the Manning legacy but said there was both good and bad with such notoriety.

“Yeah, there’s good and bad to it,” he explained. “The bad thing is you’re kind of recognized a lot of places you go and sometimes you just kind of want to be laid back and uncovered. But there’s a lot of good too. I get a lot of great advice and there’s a lot that comes with it. But obviously there’s some drawback too.”

Manning heads to the Sugar Bowl as the primary backup to starter Quinn Ewers after Maalik Murphy entered the transfer portal and signed with Duke. He was asked if there a difference between preparing as the second-string quarterback.

“I’ve gotten that question from my dad, too,” Manning said. “I’ve tried the whole time to prepare like I’m the starter. And I think obviously being a second string now there’s a better chance of going in – hopefully that doesn’t happen – but I’ve been trying to prepare like the starter the whole season and not gonna change now.

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“There’s a little different feel just because now in practice I’m getting more reps but I’m just still attacking my preparation the same way.”