Are Arch Manning's Struggles Actually A Good Thing?

Perhaps there is a silver lining to Arch Manning's early struggles in the 2025 season.

Texas football player, Arch Manning, stands on the field during warm up before a game against UTEP at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas, on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. | Gaby Velasquez / El Paso Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning hasn't exactly been performing as the Heisman Trophy hopeful that many were expecting him to be through three games in the 2025 college football season.

He had his five-touchdown performance in the second game of the season against San Jose State, a game that saw Texas win by a staggering score of 38-7, which made up for the slow start against Ohio State in the season opener, but the struggles came back to the sophomore against the UTEP Miners, and even resulted in Manning receiving boos from the hometown crowd in Austin.

But there could very well be a chance that the struggles and hardships could be just what the next generation in a historic quarterback family needs at this point.

Colin Cowherd and Joel Klatt Believe Manning's Struggles Are the "Greatest" Thing To Happen To Him

In a segment of his talk show The Herd, host Colin Cowherd brought on FOX Sports analyst and former quarterback Joel Klatt to talk about Manning's slow start, and Cowherd believes that it is the perfect thing for Manning to endure as of now, especially if he wants to take his talents to the NFL.

Feb 1, 2016; San Francisco, CA, USA; Radio personality Colin Cowherd broadcasts on radio row at the Moscone Center in advance of Super Bowl 50 between the Carolina Panthers and the Denver Broncos. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-Imagn Images | Jerry Lai-Imagn Images

“I think for Arch Manning, actually, this is the greatest thing that ever happened to him,” Cowherd said. “It’s real turbulence. Texas football, receivers are hurt, on his third-string running back, new O-line, his mechanics are weird. I’m going to argue this is essential if you’re going to make it on Sundays.”

Klatt was completely supportive in Cowherd's claim, and backed it up with some of his own testimony as a former signal caller himself.

"You don't develop in life without turbulence," Klatt said. "I don't think that it's even specific to quarterback play. I think all of us as people need trials and tribulations in order to develop perseverance. So, it absolutely applies to Arch and what a quarterback has to have that's maybe bigger and more substantial than others is that they have to have a complete belief and self-identity that is rooted in things that don't get impacted from the outside."

"You're not trying to prove anything to anyone because you're comfortable with who you are, and you're not defined by anybody because you are comfortable with who you are."

Manning and the rest of the Longhorns offense will look to build more of that comfortability when they welcome the Sam Houston State Bearkats to the Forty Acres this Saturday.