Arch Manning Believes He's Received 'Undeserved Attention' Because of His Name

The nephew of Eli and Peyton Manning wants to forge his own path.

Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) warms up before the Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

The Arch Manning era in Austin is here.

With Texas starting quarterback Quinn Ewers off to the NFL, Manning—the grandson of college football legend Archie Manning and nephew of NFL greats Eli and Peyton Manning—is the presumptive starter for the Longhorns in 2025. As he ascends to the QB1 spot under coach Steve Sarkisian, Arch, who has been very reserved with the spotlight on him since high school, is starting to open up a bit.

Fresh off of signing an NIL deal with Red Bull, Manning sat down with ESPN's Marty Smith for a wide-ranging interview. Even after the first season in which he received some meaningful playing time, the young quarterback doesn't believe he's done anything to earn the level of attention and fame that he has at 19 years old.

"I think a lot of undeserved attention," Manning said, when Smith asked what comes with having his famous last name. "But hopefully it gets more deserving in the next few months.

"I don't think I've done enough yet to be taking a lot of pictures at restaurants and signing autographs. But maybe that will come eventually."

Later in the interview, Arch described the constant selfies he takes with fans while on the move, once again adding that he feels that he hasn't accomplished anything of note yet.

"I haven't done anything. I've started two football games," Manning said. "There's a lot more guys who've done a lot more than me."

After limited snaps as a true freshman in 2023, Manning flashed his impressive potential, both as a starter when Ewers missed time due to injury and later as a change-of-pace option during games.

Manning led the team to a pair of wins over Louisiana-Monroe and Mississippi State, throwing for 583 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions as a starter. He completed 67.8% of his throws for 939 yards, nine touchdowns and two picks on the full season, adding 108 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.

Assuming he ascends to the starting quarterback job this fall, Manning's debut as the team's full-time QB1 will come against the team that ended the Longhorns' season in the College Football Playoff: defending national champion Ohio State. The Buckeyes host that huge matchup at Ohio Stadium on Aug. 30.

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