Arch Manning was born into football royalty, but that doesn’t mean he craves the spotlight. No matter where he goes, it follows—thanks to his Hall of Fame bloodline. But it’s not just his last name turning heads. A recent video of the Texas Longhorns quarterback showing off his basketball skills had fans in awe, proving that maybe everything he touches turns to gold. Yet, despite all the hype, Manning isn’t basking in the fame. In his own words, he doesn’t feel like a star until he’s earned it on the field. Now, with Quinn Ewers headed to the NFL, the 19-year-old is finally stepping up as Texas’ QB1. The question is—will he live up to the legend, or is it all just noise?

If Arch Manning had the pick of the litter when it came to college programs, why did he choose Texas? That’s exactly what he was asked in an interview on ESPN. His answer was simple yet telling—he admires head coach Steve Sarkisian, and the culture in Austin, from friends to fans, felt like home. But his reasoning didn’t stop there.

“Most importantly, I think I wanted to go somewhere, you know, maybe they haven’t been as good the past few years and were kind of on the rise,” Manning said. The 6’4″, 225-pound quarterback made his mission clear for 2025: he wants to bring Texas back.

For Longhorn fans, those words were music to their ears. But what stands out most is Manning’s mindset. He’s not here to ride on the coattails of his famous last name—he’s here to build something of his own. Football isn’t about legacy for him; it’s about passion, commitment, and putting Texas back on the map. And with his confidence and drive, the future of the Longhorns looks brighter than ever.

On the NIL valuations front, Arch Manning rules the charts. The young QB was asked how he navigated through his grandfather, Archie Manning‘s edict, which dictated no NIL deals for him until he was a starter. And those of you who think that now would be the right time for Manning to vent out in protest of such an imposition by his grandpa, you are totally wrong. The athlete humbly replied that he was supportive of his grandpa’s decision as he didn’t want to start “taking all the money” from other hardworking players just for his legacy, quite unlike Shedeur Sanders. He waited for his start, saying, “I wanted to kind of earn my money, work hard,” and earn his way up in his career.

Manning stands tall at rank 1 in NIL 100 and College Football NIL Rank, with 456,000 followers on social media. A drop of 2%, amounting to a $142,000 dip made his total valuation come down from 6.6 million to 6.5 million, but that didn’t stop the quarterback from signing NIL deals. After having collaborated with EA Sports’ College Football video game in 2024, Manning has joined hands with Red Bull, and while some credit his family network to have made this possible, we think Manning is worthy of cracking such deals. Let’s see why.

Arch Manning is a man of his word when it comes to improvement

Texas Longhorns turned up the volume in the 2024 College Football Playoffs with an impressive record of 13-3. They started strong by defeating Clemson Tigers at 38-24 in the CFP first round. In the quarterfinals, they tore through Arizona State Sun Devil‘s defense and won 39-31. However, the Semi-finals against Ohio State Buckeyes in the Cotton Bowl is where they had to stop, with a loss of 14-28.

It goes without saying that Manning’s performance had a major push in Texas’ journey in the 2024 season. The former Bobby Dodd National Back of the Year 2022 recorded a 67.8% completion rate compared to just 40% in 2023. He threw for 939 yards and scored 9 touchdowns. His longest pass also underwent a dramatic increase from 17 to 75 yards in just a year. Yes, you saw that right. A 58-yard increase! We guess it’s safe to say that Manning has definitely worked on himself and is a man of his word.

As the nephew of Superbowl champions Peyton and Eli Manning, the Longhorns quarterback said he attracts a lot of “undeserved attention.” But his performance is a testament to his yet-to-be-tapped potential. They say “confidence is the key,” and when Manning said that his upcoming 2025 performance for Texas would make him feel more deserving of his last name, every last fan is hooked to see what he’s up to this year.