Arch Manning is comfortable in the spotlight, but wants to earn it: ‘Talk is cheap'

New York Times

4 days ago

ATLANTA — It was, Arch Manning would say later, good to get away from everybody. A boys' trip, he and his three best friends from high school went to San Diego on a long weekend this summer. They played some golf, hit the town, went to a Padres game.
And never dealt with anyone recognizing him.
'No!' Manning said, his face brightening. 'It was kind of refreshing. It felt great.'
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Not that he has a problem dealing with fame. Not growing up as Archie Manning's grandfather. Not growing up as Peyton and Eli Manning's nephew. Not even the past few years, as he became the nation's top football recruit, then the nation's top backup quarterback.
That was when the fame got annoying. Manning would walk to class on the University of Texas campus and people would take his picture, ask for selfies. He hadn't done anything for his team yet, didn't like the attention. So he would call his mom on the way to class, or pretend to be on the phone.
The not playing part was harder. He knew it was a strong possibility when he chose Texas, which had Quinn Ewers for one, maybe two years — it was two, it turns out. For Manning to go there anyway, for the five-star to be the backup for two years in the day of the transfer portal, oh, everyone talked about Manning's maturity and unselfishness. What most didn't see was Manning, as a freshman, venting in the film room to Paul Chryst, the former Wisconsin coach who was on Texas' staff.
'It was an hour of me watching film — and an hour of me venting,' Manning said.
Those darker days in a darkened film room are gone. The spotlight, and the pressure that goes with it, has returned.
The Arch Manning era is underway.
'Arch Manning will be at Position 2 in the front of the room,' said the moderator in the main room at SEC media days on Tuesday. And with that, a horde of media formed around Position 2, the biggest scrum of the first two days, probably all week. Rows deep of people trying to get camera shots. One media member kept trying to get on the stage to get a better shot, despite repeated warnings.
Talking ball 🎙️ @ArchManning pic.twitter.com/q0WyY6o4Ch
— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) July 15, 2025
'I'm not gonna tell you again,' an SEC staffer said, as the reporter sheepishly got down.
Yes, he's a Manning, which is a big part of it. But the attention also comes from being talked about as a Heisman front-runner and the possible No. 1 pick in the draft.
Preseason accolades that confound detractors, such as … Arch Manning.
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'I'm not really sure how they get these opinions. I've only played what, two games,' he said. 'I guess that's nice to say. But you know, that doesn't mean anything. Talk is cheap, I've gotta go prove it.'
There's a lot still to play out. There's no assurance the hype is real. But if Manning plays as well as he interviews, he's going to be fine. The affability of his grandfather and uncles has rubbed off. So has the comfort before a camera, to a point.
'They're better actors than me,' he said.
What Arch does have on his uncles is that he's a better runner, as the world saw last year when he served as a change-of-pace quarterback, subbed in when Steve Sarkisian wanted his Texas offense to give the defense a different look. A plot twist for the nephew of two pocket quarterbacks, who have said that speed skips a generation. Unfairly, according to their nephew.
Sarkisian said Manning probably won't 'major' in running as the now-permanent starter. But it does give the offense flexibility, and Manning's knowledge of the system, and game snaps, mean Sarkisian can keep the playbook open.
'We've got a sense and a feel of things that he does really well,' Sarkisian said. 'And we can highlight those things all while still staying true systematically to who we are.'
Sarkisian also spoke about Manning's calmness and quick wit, something that will help in what should be a long season: Texas has a mammoth opener, at defending national champion Ohio State, then has an SEC slog that includes a November trip to Georgia, and then potentially the College Football Playoff.
The pressure may now be on Manning. But it may be that the long wait to play has Manning feeling less pressure and more relief to be playing again.
'You've got to walk the walk first. As much as it wasn't always fun sitting the first two years, I've got a lot of respect for my teammates, who were playing,' he said. 'Now I come at it from a place of love, not just being a turd.'
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The last word made reporters laugh, as they kept doing during an extended session with Manning. Across the room, Texas safety Michael Taaffe noticed.
'I didn't know that he was very funny,' Taaffe said. 'So I think you're kind of giving us some pity laughs.'
He was joking. Manning has too many role models to not be good at this.
'And I think his granddad always told him 'the shorter the better,'' Taaffee said.
Short but still revealing enough. Like when Manning acknowledged that while he doesn't post much on social media, he does check it often. Enough so that someone online — Robert Ratliff, a former walk-on player at Ole Miss — offered him $20 if he didn't check it for an entire week. Manning took him up on the offer, and deleted his apps before coming to Atlanta.
'So I won't know if I did good or bad in these interviews,' he said. 'Till Sunday.'
The reviews for this should be good.
The actual football? Well, it's finally time to find out.
'I'm ready to roll,' Manning said.