Arch Manning clarifies those viral NFL Draft comments

Archie Manning said Arch Manning would return to Texas in 2026. Now, Arch says not so fast.

Texas football star Arch Manning clears up comments made by his grandfather about the Longhorns quarterback's NFL Draft intentions. | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

Arch Manning has not made any decision on whether he’ll leave Texas early to declare for the 2026 NFL Draft, but the idea that he’s set to return to the Longhorns over the next two seasons is not true, the quarterback has said.

His comments come two weeks after his famous grandfather, Archie Manning, warned NFL teams not expect his grandson, a favorite to be the No. 1 pick in 2026, will enter the draft, in viral comments to a Texas-based publication.

#Texas QB Arch Manning asked about Archie Manning’s comments about Arch for sure being at Texas for two years. @ontexasfootball pic.twitter.com/p1b8Rc9CXu

— CJ Vogel (@CJVogel_OTF) August 19, 2025

“Yeah, I don’t know where he got that from,” Manning said of his grandpa’s comments.

He added: “He texted me and apologized about that. I’m really just taking it day by day, right now.”

So it appears Archie was talking out of turn about Arch’s future plans, and the apparent belief that Manning the younger was a sure thing to return to Texas in 2026.

That doesn’t mean he won’t be back with the Longhorns after this season, but it doesn’t mean he will, either. Especially if things go well for him heading into 2025.

Despite a relative lack of experience, Manning has remained at or near the top of oddsmakers’ lists both to win the Heisman Trophy and be a very high overall NFL Draft selection in 2026.

Part of that is his famous surname, and part is the fact that Manning was the No. 1 overall recruit in his class before his landmark commitment to the Longhorns.

But a trend has also been developing where some NFL Draft projections have dropped Manning out of their rankings altogether, out of the belief that he would stay at Texas for the 2026 season.

Most famous among those is Mel Kiper, Jr., the veteran ESPN mock drafter, who kept Manning off his 2026 big board out of the belief the signal caller will stay in school next year.

There’s some Manning precedent for that, as both his uncles, Peyton and Eli, stayed at Tennessee and Ole Miss, respectively, for four full seasons before turning pro.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian has not remotely tried to answer questions about Manning’s future as he prepares the young quarterback to take over in 2025.

“What I know is what I see every day, and he seems good to me,” Sarkisian said when asked about Manning’s performance thus far.

“We visit a fair amount to make sure that what frame of mind is he in, where I think he performs the best. 

“This is going to be a long season, and unfortunately, we live in a world of he’s the greatest ever, or is going to be a bust. There’s not a lot of in-between... We’re going to be national champs or we’re going to be a bust.”

Texas won’t be a bust in 2025, and likely neither will Manning. Will that translate into him taking a chance on the NFL, or staying with the Longhorns? Time will tell.

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