Texas Longhorns star quarterback Arch Manning is probably the most high-profile player in college football right now, thanks to both his five-star talent and his football-famous last name. But that doesn’t mean he craves the attention.
Heading into the 2025 college football season, Manning is taking over as the starting quarterback of the top-ranked Texas Longhorns after the departure of Quinn Ewers, who started in front of Manning the past two years.
Manning is a favorite for the Heisman Trophy, an early favorite to be the top overall pick in the NFL Draft, and the nephew of NFL legends Peyton and Eli Manning. He simply cannot avoid the spotlight, but that doesn’t mean he has to like it.
Heid Manning Describes His Brother
Before Arch was a football star, he was a brother to his two siblings, older sister May and younger brother Heid. And even though he is now one of the most high-profile names in the country, Heid had one somewhat surprising word to describe his brother: shy.
During a recent interview with The Athletic, Heid recalled a home video from their childhood days in which the Manning children were playing football in the front yard. Arch asked his father, Cooper Manning, to put the camera down.
“I said something like, ‘Well, just keep your helmet on the whole time,’” Heid recalled telling his brother. “And my parents always talk about it like, ‘That’s kind of how he is.’ He honestly — just literally and metaphorically — just kind of wants to keep his helmet on. He’s just not one for the spotlight. Just a shy, sweet kid.”
While Heid has never bee one to avoid the spotlight, Arch very much has.
“My dad always made a joke, he was like, ‘I’m glad Arch is the one who gets the attention because if Heid did, he’d be wearing a cape to school,’” Heid said.
“Which — is very much true.”
Arch Can’t Escape the Attention
Unfortunately for Arch, he does not have the luxury of ignoring all the attention, pressure, and expectations that have been placed on his shoulders. In fact, he’s going to face a high-pressure situation in the first game of his first season as a full-time starter.
To open the college football season, Arch and the Texas Longhorns are traveling to Columbus, Ohio to take on the defending national champion Ohio State Buckeyes in a rematch of the loss that ended Texas’ season in the College Football Playoff semifinals.
Legendary head coach Urban Meyer had a pretty clear warning for the young star quarterback ahead of the game.
“If he struggles, mark this down — there’s going to be a lot of pressure on that player. Unfair pressure, because he is a hell of a player. Is he going to win the Heisman? I mean, that’s those are big questions to ask,” Meyer said last month.
We’ll have to see how the “shy” quarterback handles a situation where he will be facing a lot of pressure and attention.
