INDIANAPOLIS – Arch Manning is at least a year away from Fielding's questions at the NFL Scouting Combine. Still, his former Texas teammate is totally hoping that the sophomore quarterback will ultimately be on board at the highest level.
“I think he can do it,” wide receiver Matthew Golden said Friday. “He has a mind to do that. The arch comes in every day and he goes to work. He acts like a walk-on. He has a story. He's trying to make his name.”
Manning began two Longhorns games as a redshirt freshman last year, filling in injured starter Quinn Ewors. Standing 6-foot-4, Manning, weighing 225 pounds, finished the season with 939 passing yards, nine touchdowns, two interceptions and a completion rate of 67.8.
Payton Manning and Eli Manning's nephew and Archie Manning's grandson – all first-round NFL quarterbacks – youngest Manning ran for 108 yards and four touchdowns on 25 carries. His 67-yard touchdown sprint was the longest Texas quarterback since Vince Young's 80-yard run in 2005.
“He's a great thrower, but what really shocked me was that he can run,” said receiver Isaiah Bond. “I didn't expect that at all, but the arch has some wheels on him, especially since he's a big guy, so to move at that speed, he's pretty amazing.”
Over the past 25 years, Manning is the only FBS or NFL QB to post touchdown passes for over 75 yards, touchdown runs for over 65 yards, and a 50 yard scoring pass in the same game. Manning did it against UTSA, a game he didn't start. Manning spelled out the ewers in that game, completing nine of 12 passes for four touchdowns and 223 yards, rushing for 67 yards in a 56-7 victory.
The right Archmanning started two games in 2024 when Quinn Ewers went out with an injury. (David Buono / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
As the country's number one recruit in 2023, Manning quickly put pressure on Ewers, who was number one in 2021. Then, with those performances, Manning's presence was forced to intensify the tensions of Ewers and continually improve on remaining a starter.
“In the Bible, iron sharpens iron,” Ewers said. “So it was good for me and he to work together, and we both do the same job, but it was good for us to be friends off the field as well.
“It's because that's the reality of that position. There's always a big name around the room and around the room. So I'm happy he was part of our team and I'm happy I had to hear about it too.”
After two starts against Louisiana Monroe and Mississippi State, Manning played modestly for the rest of the season, completing six of the 12 passes for 38 yards and rushing 12 times for 26 yards and a touchdown. The Longhorns reached the College Football Playoff semi-finals in their first SEC campaign.
It's time for Manning to stand out in Texas as Ewers is paying attention to his NFL career. And his former teammates believe he is ready for the spotlight.
“He's going to be a great player,” Ewers said. “He's a hardworking kid. I think he has some traits I had. He definitely has a calm and calm, and I think he's always ready to arise, since he was sitting behind me, he saw how I did it. And obviously he's going to have a way that he wants to do it.”
“He can spin the ball well,” Golden said. “He can run the ball too. I feel like there's nothing he can't arch, so I'm looking forward to what he's going to do next year. He understands the game at a high level, about his caliber, how young he is.
“You know when he's in the game. So you're just waiting for him to get the chance to start. That's fine.”
(Photo above: Matthew Visinsky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
