It Looks Like History Is About to Repeat Itself With Arch Manning

The 2025 season is already coming to an end after a wild season of college football. It's soon to reach its conclusion in the coming weeks, with the postseason quickly approaching as the first round of the College Football Playoff begins on Dec. 19.

One of the final remaining stopping points of any season is the Heisman Trophy being awarded, and for the 2025 season, the legendary award went to Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza after he led the Hoosiers to a Big 10 championship title and the No. 1 overall seed in the College Football Playoff.

With the 2025 Heisman Trophy winner already announced, all eyes will already be looking an entire year ahead trying to highlight who should be tabbed as an early Heisman Trophy favorite for 2026, and the Texas Longhorns will have themself a spot in the conversation.

Arch Manning Tabbed as a Favorite for Next Season's Heisman Trophy

Texas Longhorns Football Arch Manning Heisman Trophy — Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) throws a pass during the second half against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

Undoubtedly, one of the top names in the discussion for the 2026 Heisman Trophy will be Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning, as CBS Sports' David Cobb had Manning as the first name on his shortlist of top Heisman contenders in 2026.

"Manning ended the 2025 season trending in the right direction. He totaled 15 touchdowns as a passer and runner with just two interceptions over the Longhorns' final five regular season games and surpassed 300 yards passing in three of those contests," Cobb wrote. "Though he is draft-eligible, Manning needs to return to college football to continue his development."

While Manning's first season as the Longhorns' starter likely did not live up to the immeasurable expectations that were placed on him in the preseason, with Texas missing the postseason, the quarterback did lead the Longhorns to three wins over teams ranked in the Top 10.

Manning ended his first season as a starter, completing 227 of his 370 pass attempts for 2,942 yards, 24 touchdowns to seven interceptions. The quarterback was also a big piece of the Longhorn rushing attacks, where he totaled 244 additional yards and eight touchdowns.

Not the First Time Manning Gets Early Heisman Hype

The hype should come as no surprise for Manning, as the Longhorns quarterback received plenty of predictions to be in the running for the 2025 Heisman Trophy back in the preseason.

In fact, the hype train eventually got out of control, resulting in impossible expectations for a first-year starter. Eventually, the weight of those expectations led to some early-season struggles.

Manning, however, overcame that adversity, becoming one of the best quarterbacks in the SEC by the time the season was over.

And now, heading into 2026, it looks like that hype train could be ramping right back up.