‘The Expectations Were Unfair’ — Eli Manning Makes Feelings Clear on Arch Manning’s Overblown Hype With Texas
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Texas quarterback Arch Manning began his second season as a starter for the Longhorns with an impressive Week 1 performance against the Texas State Bobcats. Manning is under pressure to improve in his second season, and he will be in the spotlight when the Longhorns host the Ohio State Buckeyes in a marquee Week 2 clash.
NFL legend and the quarterback’s uncle, Eli Manning, addressed the overblown expectations that his nephew faced last season as the preseason Heisman Trophy favorite.
NFL Icon Slams Arch Manning’s Inflated Expectations
During Saturday’s segment of “The Colin Cowherd Podcast,” Eli slammed the outsized expectations on his nephew’s shoulders last season.
“I actually had a better sophomore year, not as good a junior year. So it kind of made my decision whether I wanted to come out early for the NFL Draft or not very easy,” Eli said. “I said, ‘Hey, I gotta come back and I gotta prove hey I’m a first-rounder. I wanna be the first quarterback.’ And that’s kind of how I’ve looked at it with Arch. I mean, last year the expectations were not fair.”
Arch joined the Longhorns as the No. 1-ranked prospect in the country, but he had to fight for his place in the Texas quarterback room. He spent the next two seasons getting limited game time behind Quinn Ewers as coach Steve Sarkisian got him acclimated to college football.
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The former five-star prospect earned the starting job last season, producing mixed performances and posting a PFN QB Impact Score of 83.1 (which ranked No. 37 in the nation).
Last season, the quarterback registered 3,163 passing yards on a 61.4% completion percentage, 26 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions, adding 399 rushing yards and 10 scores for the Longhorns.
The New York Giants legend further analyzed his nephew’s lack of experience.
“I mean, he played in two games and then all of a sudden it’s like he’s gonna win the Heisman Trophy and he’s gonna do all these things,” Eli added. “You gotta play some games. You gotta get hit. You gotta play some bad games. You need to have bad games to learn from that, and nobody was giving him the opportunity or the chance to have a bad game. It was like, ‘Alright, he’s already above that.’
“Like, no, that’s part of playing in college football, that’s part of playing in games. He got better as the season went and you hope this year, hey, he can be ready for these big games and going against an Ohio State or against SEC defenses, that you’re prepared for it and you know what to expect.”
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This season, Manning is once again one of the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy and lead his team to a national championship title, and the quarterback is facing immense pressure to deliver for the Longhorns while also being viewed as a potential No. 1 overall pick in the 2027 NFL Draft.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.
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