Texas Longhorns QB Arch Manning Named to Watch List for Another Award

His praises (and criticisms) have been sung for the entirety of the offseason and even some during the 2024 season, but now the time has nearly come for the Arch Manning era to begin for the Texas Longhorns and head coach Steve Sarkisian.

After playing as a backup to Quinn Ewers and even starting two games last year, the redshirt sophomore has shown to the Austin crowd and the college football world that he is more than capable of leading the Burnt Orange to victory, be it with his arm or with his legs.

And should he keep up his impressive style of play in 2025, it could secure him some more individual honor in the form of a few reuptable awards.

Manning Named to Preseason Watch List for Davey O'Brien Award

Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning and running back Jaydon Blue — Dec 21, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns running back Jaydon Blue (23) takes the handoff from quarterback Arch Manning (16) against the Clemson Tigers during the CFP National playoff first round at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Manning is a favorite as of now to take home the 2025 Heisman Trophy, which would make him the third Longhorn overall to take the award and first since running back Ricky Williams in the 1998 season.

And on Thursday, the nephew of Peyton and Eli was named to the preseason watch list for the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award, given annually to the best quarterback in the NCAA.

Manning was also named to the preseason watch list for the Maxwell Award, joining Longhorns running back Quintrevion Wisner.

The Longhorns have a little more history when it comes to the Davey O'Brien Award, with legendary running back Earl Campbell winning the very first award in 1977, before the award was given only to quarterbacks starting in 1981.

Since then, two other highly touted Horns have been awarded the honor, Vince Young in 2005, and Colt McCoy in 2009, two years that saw each of those quarterbacks lead the Longhorns into the national championship game.

The 2024 award was given to Miami Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward, who led Miami to a 10-3 record while throwing for 4,313 yards and 39 touchdowns with seven interceptions, later being the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft by the Tennessee Titans.

In 10 games and two starts in the 2024 season, Manning completed 61 of 90 passes for 939 yards, nine touchdowns and two interceptions, while adding 108 yards on 25 carries and four touchdowns on the ground.

As we all know, the difficulty for Manning's first challenge as the true starting quarterback for the Longhorns is right there next to near impossible. The Longhorns will head up to Ohio Stadium in Columbus to take on the reigning national champion Ohio State Buckeyes in a rematch of last year's College Football Playoff Semifinal matchup, a result of which will certainly have Texas out for vengeance this time around.