Texas's Arch Manning Makes Decision on Becoming 'College Football 26' Cover Athlete

Ryan Phillips | Apr 28, 2025

Texas quarterback Arch Manning threw for 939 yards and nine touchdowns during the 2024 season. / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

It doesn't look like Arch Manning will be on the cover of EA Sports' College Football 26.

In March, a number of images of college football players and coaches from CFB26 leaked, but Manning and Texas coach Steve Sarkisian were not among them. On Monday, Sarkisian revealed he and Manning opted not to attend the photo shoot at the Rose Bowl for the game.

That means that unless there's a change, neither man will appear on the cover art of the game.

That's quite a change from last year when Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers was one of the cover athletes, alongside Colorado's Travis Hunter and Michigan's Dylan Edwards.

Texas is one of college football's biggest programs, so not having its two most prominent members participating in the shoot is pretty surprising.

Manning is arguably the most famous college football player in the country and was almost certainly a lock to be on the game's cover. Instead, he won't be.

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