Has Any Texas Quarterback Ever Faced More Pressure Than Arch Manning?

The Texas Longhorns are heading into the 2026 season with a lot of noise from both fans and many national analysts, with lofty expectations for the Longhorns' upcoming season, projecting them to not only be one of the top teams in the country but also be a prime candidate to be the last team standing as national champions.

And while head coach Steve Sarkisian's squad has plenty of talented players set to take the field for a pivotal 2026 season, the one upholding those expectations and carrying the responsibility of those projections on his shoulders, whether justified or not, is quarterback Arch Manning.

Manning has been under the spotlight since before he set foot on the Forty Acres, and when he committed to the Longhorns, that light grew larger. And now, as the quarterback heads into his fourth season with the Longhorns, the second as the program's starting quarterback, the noise and pressure are at an all-time high for Manning.

Arch Manning Faces Sky-High Expectations in 2026, But That's Nothing New

Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning keeps the ball and runs for a touchdown during the second half against the Texas A&M Aggies at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Longhorns quarterback is not new to the preseason noise and expectations, as he had already faced an insurmountable amount of pressure heading into his first season as Texas' starting quarterback in 2025.

Many college football analysts had already anointed Manning as the top quarterback in the country, a Heisman Trophy frontrunner, and expected him to bring the Longhorns back to championship glory before truly having the chance to prove himself as a full-time starting quarterback.

And when the quarterback struggled at the beginning of the 2025 season, many analysts who, before the season, praised the quarterback with lofty expectations became Manning's loudest critics. The criticism reached a point where Manning was called "college football's first flop" after just seven games of the season.

Receiving criticism and having the pressure of the program on your shoulders is a part of the job when it comes to being the starting quarterback at Texas, with the Longhorns having a long list of high-profile signal callers who have faced the same fire Manning has.

Vince Young became a legend with the 2005 season, bringing Texas its most recent national championship, but that wasn't without some early struggles. Young was the No. 1 quarterback in the country in the 2002 recruiting class and faced the same lofty expectations as Manning, but Young struggled to adjust early on during what turned out to be a legendary Texas career.

Colt McCoy had one of the toughest jobs college football has ever seen, having to be the successor after Young's legendary career. McCoy endured those expectations and became Texas' all-time winningest quarterback, leading the Longhorns to a national title game in the 2009 season, and if it weren't for an injury, there's a chance he could've brought another championship to Austin.

Quinn Ewers faced a lot of the same noise Manning has had to withstand. Ewers was the No. 1 quarterback in his class, and when he transferred to Texas in 2022, he was expected to get the Longhorns back to the national stage. And through injuries and heavy criticism, Ewers did just that, leading the Longhorns to a conference championship and back-to-back College Football Playoff semifinals.

The pressure on many of the Longhorns' starting quarterbacks is immense, and Manning has already faced that in his 2025 season.

That said, the 2026 season could be the most pressure any Texas quarterback has had to endure, as the Longhorns have one of the top rosters in the country, with many proclaiming the upcoming season as a championship-or-bust season.

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