Arch Manning’s Father Shared Insightful Update on QB’s Recent Surgery: What It Means for Texas in 2026

Arch Manning’s first full season as a starter with Texas resembled a thrilling roller coaster ride. There were stomach-churning lows—a season-opening dud in a loss to Ohio State—and exhilarating highs, like his 389-yard passing performance with six total touchdowns in a November win over Arkansas.

When the dust settled, Manning had accounted for over 3,000 yards passing, 26 passing touchdowns against seven interceptions and had ran for nearly 500 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground. Solid numbers, but not the generational impact many expected for a quarterback with the name Manning on the back of his jersey.

But with another year of knowledge between the ears, there's reason to believe 2026 could be an even bigger year for Manning. There's another reason why Texas fans should have a healthy amount of optimism as spring practice gets underway.

Manning will be entering the ‘26 season fully healthy, unlike last year.

Arch Manning’s father Cooper shares intriguing update on the Texas QB’s lingering injury, which required surgery

It was previously announced that Manning underwent surgery in January to address a previous injury. According to his father Cooper, that injury dated much further back than many realized, he explained in a recent interview with Chip Brown of Horns247.

According to the elder Manning, the Texas signal-caller first suffered the foot injury in a game against Texas A&M back in Nov. 2024. Manning, then the backup to Quinn Ewers, tweaked his foot on a fourth down touchdown run in the first quarter of a 17–7 win over the Aggies.

One year ago today @ArchManning 🤘🏻 pic.twitter.com/IVn8Gwc0lF
— Chris Bennett (CB) (@chrisgb002000) November 30, 2025

“The injury was something that had been bothering him all year,” Manning's father said. “He’d been doing therapy for it, and I think he kind of aggravated it in the Texas A&M game the year before on that touchdown run he had. So, he'd been doing therapy on it all year, and finally just said, ‘Look, I want to go ahead and just get this thing fixed and not have to worry about it anymore.’”

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian described the injury as a “lingering thing that he'd been dealing with over a couple of years” that was “not a serious issue at all.”

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What the latest Arch Manning injury update means for Texas football in 2026

Let’s keep things in perspective here—it’s not like Manning is recovering from a season-ending injury. But the fact that Texas is slow-playing Manning’s spring ramp-up—he sat off to the side during the portion of practice visible to the media Monday before throwing later on—indicates that the injury he battled through in ’25 wasn’t nothing, either.

Sarkisian had indicated in February that Manning would be limited to start the spring—and so far that appears to be the case. Taking a long-view for a moment, this is excellent news for the future of the Longhorns’ QB room, for fellow signal-callers KJ Lacey, Dia Bell and MJ Morris will get valuable practice reps that they perhaps wouldn’t otherwise receive if Manning were a full go. That should only benefit the Longhorns down the road.

In terms of ’26, a fully healthy Manning is music to the ears of everyone affiliated with Texas football. Not having to fight his own body and battle through pain every Saturday should allow Manning to be the best physical version of himself, excellent news given how important athleticism is to his game.

The experience and trials and tribulations Manning went through as a first-year starter will also help him. Following the disappointing, season-opening loss to Ohio State, Manning uttered a prophetic quote, stating his belief that he and his teammates would look back on the bitter defeat and say, “Wow, we improved a lot.”

That was certainly the case, as Manning seemed to improve by the game for the Longhorns down the stretch of the season after his slow start. He showed more poise in the pocket, made better reads and seemed to better pick his spots as to when to use his legs, a dangerous part of his game. Mentally, Manning should be a sharper decision-maker and a cooler cucumber under center for Texas in ’26.

He'll also benefit from a talented stable of weapons. The Longhorns in January added the top available wide receiver from the transfer portal, former Auburn star Cam Coleman, giving Manning a true No. 1 receiver. Manning will also benefit from the familiarity of his top returning wideout in Ryan Wingo, who led the Longhorns with 834 yards and seven touchdowns last season, as well as Emmett Mosley V (408 yards, three touchdowns last season). It’s great news for a Longhorns offense that ranked 42nd in points per game and 70th in total yards per game in ’25. Should the Texas defense maintain its at-times dominant play from ’25 and the offensive line take a step forward from its topsy-turvy showing last fall, Texas will be a legitimate title threat.

Put it all together and there’s reason to believe the best is yet to come for Manning and the Longhorns in ’26.

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