'Not Fair': Longhorns Legend Colt McCoy Speaks on Arch Manning Expectations

If anybody knows what it's like to bear the expectations of a Texas Longhorns quarterback, it's Colt McCoy.

Matt Galatzan | Jun 27, 2023

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Texas Longhorns

If anybody knows what it's like to bear the expectations of a Texas Longhorns quarterback, it's Colt McCoy.

The four-year starter took over for arguably the greatest player in the history of the program, Vince Young, in 2006, and faced enormous pressure as a result.

Instead of folding under that pressure, McCoy flourished, leading the Longhorns to a 45-8 record in 53 career starts, along with winning a Big 12 title and taking Texas to a national title appearance vs. Alabama.

Now, five-star freshman Arch Manning is facing a similar mountain of expectations. However, it is not because of who is will eventually take over for, but rather due to his family name and his elite recruiting ranking.

Not only is he seen as the next great Longhorns savior, but many fans are already counting on him to be the savior of the program.

And according to McCoy, those expectations of Manning are just not fair.

"I think Texas is really starving to win 10 games again," McCoy said. "All of a sudden, they get the No. 1 recruit in the country. Only other time they've done that was when they got Vince Young. The expectations for [Manning] on campus, I'm sure, are crazy. That's not necessarily fair to him."

Can Manning live up to McCoy, Young or even Ehlinger? That remains to be seen.

He has the talent, he has the football IQ, and he has the intangibles on and off the field.

All he has to do is put those things together on the field. Oh, and meet the expectations of one of the biggest fan bases and most storied programs in the country.

No big deal, right?

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Published Jun 27, 2023

MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writer’s Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014 covering the Dallas Mavericks and SMU Mustangs with 247Sports. He then moved to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.