Eli Manning Would 'Drill' Arch With Footballs To 'Toughen Him Up'

Every quarterback needs to be tough, and Texas Longhorns signal-caller Arch Manning had his uncle, Eli Manning, to help him learn that brutal reality at a young age.

Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning reportedly "looked incredible" during a scrimmage earlier this month, scoring on a 70-yard touchdown run.

While his uncles' roots probably didn't trickle down to the speed he showed, the grit and determination to score on that play is deeply rooted within the Manning family name. One uncle, two-time Super Bowl winner Eli Manning, may have played a direct role in Arch Manning's toughness.

"I think my first catch with him, he was like 4 years old," Eli Manning told PEOPLE. "I'm just drilling balls at him and bouncing off so he didn't cry.

"I had to toughen him up and make sure he was tough enough to handle this."

Arch Manning is arguably the biggest recruiting score Texas has gotten in awhile. He was the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2023 out of Isidore Newman High School in New Orleans, where he threw for 8,577 yards and 115 touchdowns, which were both previous records of his uncles Eli and Peyton Manning, respectively.

Arch Manning has put in work in the offseason, cutting three pounds while transitioning his weight distribution from fat into muscle. He and the Longhorns quarterbacks posed for a picture in the team's weight room where all five signal-callers looked to be in top condition.

While Arch Manning is competing with Maalik Murphy for the backup role — a decision that head coach Steve Sarkisian is still working through — he will not see the field until at least 2024, barring an injury to starter Quinn Ewers.

Eli Manning thinks him sitting and learning is "the right move."

"Be there, learn from the guys ahead of you, take mental reps during practice and during the games," Eli Manning said. "Always being ready to go out there and play."

His uncle's other advice for Arch: "just enjoy being in college."