Ryan Day Commends Manning Family for Handling Arch Hype Before Ohio State-Texas Game

Manning is entering year one as Texas's starting quarterback.

Arch Manning, the nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning and grandson of Archie Manning, is arguably the most famous player in college football. / Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

As the nephew of two former Super Bowl winning-quarterbacks and the grandson of a Pro Bowl-caliber NFL passer, Arch Manning has pedigree in spades. But with pedigree also comes renown. And Manning, who is entering year one as the starting quarterback for the Texas Longhorns, is one of the most talked-about players in sports and arguably the most famous player in all of college football.

But through his journey from high school star at Isidore Newman School in New Orleans to highly sought-after recruit to Texas QB, Arch's larger-than-life relatives have stayed out of his process.

It's something that even his opponents have noticed.

As his team prepares to take on Manning's Longhorns on Saturday, Ohio State Buckeyes coach Ryan Day took some time to heap some praise on the Manning family for how it has handled the immense hype that has surrounded Arch.

"Those guys {Manning family} have stayed out of it for the most part because they just want him to write his own story."@OhioStateFB's Ryan Day had high praise for Texas QB Arch Manning and his family ahead of the Buckeye's Week 1 matchup vs the Longhorns ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/3yzJXOjYcQ

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) August 26, 2025

"I have the utmost respect for the Manning family," Day said Tuesday. "Starting with Archie, I think he's an unbelievable ambassador for the game. And Eli and Peyton—I can't say enough about who they are as, again, ambassadors of the game, gentlemen and obviously, great players. And certainly Arch is a tremendous player as well...

"But those guys, they've stayed out of it for the most part because they want him to write his own story. I got a lot of respect for how they've handled that. I think he's got a great future ahead of him and he's a great player."

Manning will begin writing his own story when the Longhorns take the field at Ohio Stadium on Saturday afternoon. And Manning, already a Heisman favorite and laden with expectations, is shifting the narrative.

"I think we kind of try to shift the narrative, we're going for everyone else," Manning told reporters Monday. "The target's not on our back. We have a red dot on everyone else."

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