High School

Arch Manning makes appearance at Texas High school football game

Texas Longhorns quarterback, all-time Louisiana high school football great saw Austin High beat Westwood in Week 2

Andy Buhler

Arch Manning warms up before Texas' 2024 debut against Colorado State at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
Arch Manning warms up before Texas' 2024 debut against Colorado State at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. / Aaron Meullion-Imagn Images

Two nights before the Texas Longhorns play a Michigan in a top-10 college football showdown in Ann Arbor, backup quarterback Arch Manning snuck in some Texas high school football.

Manning attended Austin High's narrow 35-34 win over Round Rock Westwood on Thursday night in Austin.

Footage and pictures show the redshirt sophomore was seated in the grandstands with his father, Cooper Manning, the brother of Peyton and Eli Manning.

Manning is one of the best quarterbacks in Louisiana high school football history.

He was the top prospect in the nation in 2022, leading Isadore Newman to a 34-9 record and finished with a school-record 8,599 career passing yards and 115 TDs opposite 20 picks.

Despite his status and stock, Arch Manning entered the season the backup toformer Southlake Carroll standout Quinn Ewers.

Last weekend, he subbed in for Ewers during Texas' 52-0 Week 1 win over Colorado State, scored his first two touchdowns and finished 5-for-6 passing with 95 yards.

Manning led a four-play, 49-yard drive late in the third quarter and capped it with a five-yard touchdown pass to Silas Bolden.

On fourth and goal on the Rams' one-yard-line on the Longhorns' next possession, Manning ran in a quarterback keeper.

It was the younger Manning's most extended appearance in his second game. As a true freshman, he entered a lopsided win at Texas Tech and completed 2 of 5 pass attempts, including a 17-yard connection.

Eli Manning had some advice for Arch on an appearance of "Roommates Show," a podcast hosted by New York Knicks guards Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart.

He told the younger Manning he noticed a blown read on an incomplete pass on a 4th and 7, saying on the podcast he told him "'hey, have a plan but don't predetermine what you're going to do and then when something changes or they change up the defense, just have your progression of what you're going to go through."

No. 3 Texas and No. 10 Michigan kick off on Saturday at 11 a.m. Central time.

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-- Andy Buhler | andy@scorebooklive.com | @sblivetx

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Andy Buhler
ANDY BUHLER

Andy Buhler is a Regional Editor of Texas and the national breaking news desk. He brings more than five years of experience covering high school sports across the state of Washington and beyond, where he covered the likes of Paolo Banchero and Tari Eason served on state tournament seeding committees. He works on the SBLive/Sports Illustrated Power 25 national boys basketball rankings. He has covered everything from the Final Four, MLS in Atlanta to local velodrome before diving into the world of preps. His bylines can be found in The News Tribune (Tacoma, Washington), The Associated Press, The Columbian (Vancouver, Washington), The Oregonian and more. He holds a degree from Gonzaga and is based out of Portland, Oregon.

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