Arch Manning is ready for the spotlight and everything it entails

“I want to go to Texas.”

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At some point in his youth with a green cast on his left hand, Arch Manning said these words to someone filming a home movie. Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian will tell you it wasn’t as simple as calling Manning and his family and asking if that was still on the table, especially after a 5-7 2021 season that coincided with Manning’s junior year at Isidore Newman.

The well-told tale did end with Manning going to Texas. But in what’s considered a surprise when looking at the current shape of college football, Manning stayed in Austin despite spending two years behind Quinn Ewers. Manning claimed he had a good idea he was going to stay at Texas in spite of his position on the depth chart for 2023 and 2024.

“Great idea,” he said correcting himself on Thursday.

Now, as the Longhorns’ QB1, he’s ready for everything the position brings with it.

“Feels good,” Manning said. “We’ve got a good team. A bunch of good guys. I’m excited to start taking some more of the one reps.”

Everything includes the good. A starter in two games last year and often used in critical situations on offense in 10 games total, Manning has a sense of what it’s like to be in the position that now fully belongs to him. Sarkisian said last year Manning prepared like a starter even if he wasn’t guaranteed snaps. Now that those snaps are guaranteed, the opportunities he had on the Longhorns’ 2024 squad are seen as a blessing by No. 16.

“Anytime you get game reps, that’s just such a help,” Manning said. “I’m really glad I got to play in those games.”

Manning was efficient in his 12-ish minutes with local media on Thursday. He offered no long, winding answers but responded to everything earnestly and honestly. He’s excited to compete against his defense this spring, a competitive nature Sarkisian singled out on Tuesday. Manning mentioned it’s “fun in practice” to talk a little trash to players like Colin Simmons, Anthony Hill, and Michael Taaffe.

He mentioned how young receivers like Daylan McCutcheon, Aaron Butler, and roommate Parker Livingstone have made the most of their chances with Ryan Wingo and DeAndre Moore limited during spring sessions.

He even mentioned he understands how difficult the media attention he garnered last year as the backup was not just him but also for Ewers, who hopes to hear his name called early in the upcoming draft. Manning offered nothing but effusive praise for Ewers.

“It’s probably pretty annoying have me as a backup,” Manning said.

Maybe most importantly, Manning knows all the reviews of his game aren’t going to remain glowing.

Everything that the quarterback position at Texas entails also includes the bad. He knows the criticism will come. He knows there are going to be moments like his first start, which featured two interceptions. Or moments like when Georgia made his and Ewers’ life difficult in Austin. Or times like when he got hit hard by Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl.

It’s something that was drilled into him by his head coach.

“The boos?” Sarkisian said Tuesday in response to a question about fan adulations. “Because the boos are going to come pretty soon too.”

He’d add “They love the backup quarterback but they hate interceptions. The boos are coming.”

Whatever may come, Manning is ready.

“You’ve got to be prepared for everything,” Manning said.

That’s not just on the field, that’s off the field too. Manning might be the most celebrity of celebrity quarterbacks to play college football since Tim Tebow, and Tebow at least had won a national championship as a significant contributor alongside Chris Leak when Tebow-mania took off. Even in a metropolitan area of several million, Manning is easily recognizable.

But he’s accustomed to it and has a group he knows will help him through those situations, family and friends alike.

“I think he’s been exposed to a lot and handling himself in a way I think is important to him,” Sarkisian said.

In trying times, members of the Longhorns team will look to Manning for leadership. Inside Texas has written often that the leadership at Texas hinges on the two players wearing No. 16 in Manning and Taaffe.

Not only is that something that Manning is ready for, it’s something his coach believes he’ll be able to handle as the Longhorns traverse their second season in the Southeastern Conference.

“I think Arch is a naturally competitive guy,” Sarkisian said. “I’ve said this before, he’s got a very infectious personality. I think people gravitate to him. One of the things I see right now is naturally, he’s leading a group of maybe some younger players, especially at the skill spots at that wideout spot. His confidence I think helps them, his understanding, his ability to connect to those guys in between series and talk to hem has been helpful.”

Competitiveness is hard to fake. Ability is hard to fake. Leadership is hard to fake. Manning seems to get that as he steps into the driver’s seat in a time Texas believes its national championship window remains wide open

“I think you have to walk the walk,” Manning said. “You’ve got to work hard. It’s a game, after all. You’ve got to have fun, smile, laugh, know that you’re going to back these guys up and play for them. I’m imperfect. I’m going to make some leadership mistakes, but it’s just continuing to grow and get better everyday.”

Sarkisian calls quarterback the most important position in sports, and for good reason. The demands of the position are many. There are athletic demands. There are schematic demands. There are personal demands.

At Texas, those demands are higher than those carried by most other programs. A unique skill set is required to handle it all.

It’s a responsibility Manning has wanted for some time, waiting two years as a backup in order to claim it. Now that it’s his, he’s excited to carry it entering 2025.

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“It was tough,” Manning said of waiting. “It’s tough in this age. I hope it pays off. There was nowhere else I wanted to be. I want to be at Texas. I’ve got friends here. Love this place. I want to be the quarterback at the University of Texas. Sometimes, it’s worth the wait.”