FOX Sports Digital
TAMPA, Fla. — By his name alone, Arch Manning is subject to an unprecedented and nearly unfair level of high expectations. He has a football legend for a grandfather and two uncles who won two Super Bowls each. So, when asked what quarterbacks he compares himself to, the Texas junior politely declines. "I'm trying to do better at not comparing myself to others," Manning said Thursday, wearing a burnt orange tie as he talked to a few dozen reporters in the final session of SEC Media Days. "Comparison, they say, is the thief of joy. So I'm trying to not compare myself to others. I guess that's y'all's job." No college player faces higher standards in 2026, and that was evident at SEC Media Days. Manning's session was the most anticipated among the players in attendance this week. And somehow Manning has been here before, his reputation preceding him a year ago when he was a first-year starter taking over for the Longhorns. "You know, Arch Manning, a year ago, wasn't on social media or on television saying 'I'm going to be the first pick of the draft.' He wasn't on television saying 'I'm going to win the Heisman Trophy,'" Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said Thursday. "All he did was work really hard. All he did was try to be the best teammate he could be. And then we had some failures as a team. He didn't have [them]. He didn't play the way of what he was capable of playing. "What he got put through probably would have melted or destroyed 99% of people in his shoes. All he did was stay consistent and true to who he was, just continue to work hard, continue to be a great teammate, to get better." A year ago, Manning was the buzz of college football, anointed as a Heisman Trophy favorite despite the fact he had just 95 pass attempts in his first two years at Texas. It was too much, too soon, born of his quarterback pedigree, but bad NFL fan bases were actively hoping their teams would lose enough to land him at the top of the 2026 NFL Draft. Manning's team stumbled out of the gates. Texas lost its opener to Ohio State 14-7, with Manning throwing for just 170 yards. After three non-conference wins, the Longhorns, still ranked No. 9, lost at unranked Florida, with Manning throwing two interceptions in the loss. College football's spotlight shifted quickly and Indiana's Fernando Mendoza kept winning — and impressing — to keep it on him. With the spotlight shifted off of him, Manning found himself in the final eight games of Texas' 2025 season. The Longhorns went 7-1, their only loss to No. 5 Georgia, and Manning had 15 touchdowns against two interceptions in those games. Texas beat four ranked teams in that span — No. 6 Oklahoma, No. 9 Vanderbilt, No. 3 Texas A&M and No. 18 Michigan — and Manning had seven touchdowns and zero interceptions in those...
