The deadline for Arch Manning to declare for the 2026 NFL Draft has already passed, so he’ll be back at Texas for another year. This wasn’t a surprise decision, as it became clear early in the college football season that he was going to come back for a fourth year.
Though Manning’s enormous hype train slowed down a bit after a rocky start to the season, he got better and better as the year went on. He was so impressive against Michigan in the Citrus Bowl that there were some who suggested that Manning still had a chance to be the No. 1 pick if he were to declare.
He decided against it, but according to his father, Cooper Manning, the young quarterback was always hoping to come back for another year.
“You know, Arch loves playing football at the University of Texas,” Manning told Heavy Sports. “He loves his friends. He loves his teammates. He loves coach (Steve Sarkisian) and that coaching staff, and they’ve been great to him. I think he will stay in Austin as long as he can. He is a happy college student and, you know, the NFL is tough, and it’s a business and … it’s really cutthroat. So as long as he could play college football, I think he would.
“You’re seeing a lot of people who are trying to play their fifth year and sixth year these days. It’s a great institution. I think you only get four years is the way I understand it. But I think he is excited about his fourth year in school and graduating and just growing as a person and maturing and becoming a better football player.”
Manning Appreciates Sarkisian’s Toughness
Arch Manning was one of the most hype quarterback prospects to come out of high school in years. Though his last name certainly helped, he earned that hype with his play on the field.
However, high school football is a much different beast than college football. A big reason why Manning wanted to go to Texas was that Sarkisian doesn’t go easy on his players because of their status, according to Cooper Manning.
“I think Sark’s been pretty tough on Arch. I think you get coddled a little bit sometimes in high school and stuff,” Manning told Heavy Sports. “So I think it was really good for Sark to be tough on Arch and challenge him to where when you get in those situations on the road, hostile crowd, things aren’t going so well down in the fourth quarter, you felt a little bit of that before at practice.
“You know what it’s like. You’ve been through a little bit of the ringer, where at least you can go, okay, ‘I’m prepared for this. It doesn’t hurt my feelings if someone’s ripping me or things aren’t going well, or I’m getting booed.’ And so, I think Sark’s really good at seasoning you and making you a better version of yourself. And I think Arch is really grateful for that.”
Manning Talks Partnership With Capital One
While the Manning name is synonymous with football, Cooper Manning never had a chance at the NFL. That’s why he decided to work in business. He’s recently partnered with Capital One, and he explained why it was an appealing partnership.
“Capital One, with their Venture X Business card, they just really understand the similarities between athletes and entrepreneurs,” Manning told Heavy Sports And so they want you to be focused on what’s going on with your job, stay in the lines, and not have to worry about a lot of stuff, logistics, that they can control for you. And it’s been great for us. We were moving around a ton in the fall, going to a lot of football games, a lot of friends and family coming in and out.
“And to have them worry about flights and hotels and all the logistics and let us just worry about getting to the stadium on time and having some fun and being with players, parents and old friends and new friends to come and enjoy it made it a lot easier. So I’m really just as a business owner, as a dad, as a fan of going to great sporting events, Capital One Venture X Business card is a real asset for us.
So we’re grateful to have it in our lives.”
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This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
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