After a strong end to the 2025 college football season, Texas Longhorns star quarterback Arch Manning could have entered the NFL Draft, where some experts seem to think he has a bright future ahead of him.
However, Manning has decided not to enter the NFL Draft this year and will return to Texas for another season, and that decision is already being rewarded.
Arch Manning NFL Draft Decision
Manning entered the season with high expectations as the preseason Heisman Trophy favorite, the projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, and the starting quarterback of the preseason top-ranked team. However, it was a rollercoaster of a season for the first-year starter.
Through the first three games of the season, Manning did not seem to live up to the hype, completing just 55.3 percent of his passing attempts for 579 yards and six touchdowns, along with three interceptions. Manning’s performance was so disappointing that even some of his staunchest supporters changed their opinion on the young quarterback.
Midway through the season, however, Manning’s performance started to improve. By the end of the season, Manning was playing like one of the top quarterbacks in the entire country.
In the last five games of the regular season, Manning threw for over 250 yards four times as he led the Longhorns to a 2-1 record against ranked opponents. In those games, Manning threw for 12 touchdowns while throwing just one interception.
Manning’s drastic improvement throughout the year led some to believe that he might choose to enter the 2026 NFL Draft, where there is a chance he would have been seen as one of the top quarterbacks in the group. However, he instead opted to return to Texas for at least one more season.
Texas Makes Big Transfer Portal Moves
Manning’s decision to return to Texas was quickly rewarded this month as the Longhorns looked to surround him with talent for a potential national title run.
Since the NCAA transfer portal opened at the beginning of the month, Texas has secured commitments from several top players, specifically on the offensive side of the ball.
The Longhorns landed a commitment from former Auburn wide receiver Cam Coleman, who On3 Sports rated as the top overall player in the transfer portal. Texas also landed two high-profile running backs, signing NC State transfer Hollywood Smothers and Arizona State transfer Raleek Brown, both of whom were ranked as top-five running backs in this transfer portal class.
Texas 2026 offense:
QB – Arch Manning
RB – Hollywood Smothers
RB – Raleek Brown
WR – Cam Coleman
WR – Ryan Wingo
WR – Emmett Mosley V
TE – Townsend/MasunasStill needing a couple pieces on the offense line, but that’s as good as it gets with the skill pieces.
— CJ Vogel (@CJVogel_OTF) January 11, 2026
Texas landed some playmakers on defense, too, signing former Pitt linebacker Rasheem Biles, who was the top linebacker in the transfer portal, as well as former Rutgers cornerback Bo Mascoe, who was a top-five corner in the transfer portal.
All in all, Texas brought in five players ranked in the top 50 of On3 Sports’ transfer portal player rankings, including the top wide receiver in the class who will be catching passes from Manning next year.
Needless to say, it sounds like Texas is going all-in on competing for a national title after Manning decided to return to the Longhorns for another year.
