OTF Premium Steve Sarkisian wants Arch Manning to 'have an opportunity to enjoy' being QB1 for Texas

[Jeff Howe]

Arch Manning wasn’t among the 13 quarterbacks selected in the 2025 NFL Draft. Nevertheless, the rising redshirt sophomore poised to lead a Texas team with national championship aspirations was mentioned as much as the baker’s dozen who were picked over the draft’s seven rounds, as the potential No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 draft.

Monday’s Touchdown Club of Houston luncheon wasn’t the first time Steve Sarkisian has been asked about Manning’s future on the Forty Acres. Still, the question wasn’t about Manning handling being the Longhorns’ backup quarterback.

Instead, Sarkisian was asked during a fan Q&A at the Bayou City Event Center if he had “a sense whether” Manning would be at Texas one year or two years, since he’s eligible to enter next year’s draft.

“Here’s what I hope,” Sarkisian said as nervous laughter broke out throughout the room. “I hope he's got a really hard decision to make on — about Jan. 21. That means he played a long time, that means he probably had a really good season, and that means that he's trying to figure out, 'Do I want one more year in the burnt orange? Or is it time to go to the NFL?'

“I hope it's a really, really hard decision,” he added. “I hope it's not a no-brainer to come back to school.”

The discussion of Manning becoming the third No. 1 overall pick in his family (Peyton Manning in 1998 and Eli Manning in 2004) after one season as QB1 for the Longhorns is acceptable post-spring practice fodder. Any prolonged draft speculation falls somewhere on a relevance spectrum between writers, reporters, and publishers openly pining for Manning to be the quarterback of the future for the team they cover and content mills farming for clicks.

The expectation has long been for Manning to spend at least two seasons at the wheel of Sarkisian’s offense. Regardless, it would be a surprise if Sarkisian isn’t asked about the length of Manning’s stay in Austin several times before Texas opens the 2025 season on the road in a Cotton Bowl rematch with reigning national champion Ohio State on Aug. 30.

Longhorn fans are fortunate to follow a football program covered by media outlets (OTF among them) wise enough to avoid giving in to the temptation to drive pointless narratives involving the 6-foot-4-inch, 222-pound quarterback with the potential to help Texas secure the program’s first national title since 2005. The same goes for ESPN’s Matt Miller and NFL.com's Lance Zierlein, who did their respective parts to stamp out the idea that Manning is destined to headline the 2026 draft.

“I won’t be doing any draft work on Arch for 2026,” Miller wrote. “He’s probably a 2027 player. He could be a 2028 player.”

Zierlein pointed out two notable facts: Peyton and Eli Manning "both played four years of college ball,” he wrote, and Arch Manning has the earning potential through NIL deals to put off the NFL until he and his family decide it's time to go.

“Why do people think Arch is going to be in the 2026 draft?” he wrote.

The circus might slow down, but it won’t stop. For Texas fans already tired of opposing fans and the football media anxiously awaiting Manning’s departure, heeding Sarkisian’s advice should help maintain everyone’s sanity and enjoy what could be an unprecedented era of Longhorn football.

“Let’s let this guy go play this year,” Sarkisian said. “Let's let him have fun, finally getting his opportunity to be the starting quarterback for the Texas Longhorns. It's been a lifelong dream for this guy to do this.

“It's finally his time,” he added. “I hope he can just have an opportunity to enjoy it and enjoy it the right way because, like a lot of guys from our team, he's been dreaming about this his whole life, and now he gets an opportunity to go do it.

“I just want to make sure that we all support him in this journey.”

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[4thandFive]

HookEm and let’s win it all.

[Jeff Howe]

There's a LOT of nonsense Longhorn Nation has to block out in the next 20 or so months. Heeding Sark's advice is the best way to deal with it, IMO.

[Jeff Howe]

Matt Miller's Twitter post from Tuesday:

 

[Jeff Howe]

Lance Zierlein's thoughts on Arch:

 

[NothinButDaHorns34]

Archmania is just going to become even crazier over the summer leading into our rematch with ohio state. 

[4thandFive]

3 minutes ago, NothinButDaHorns34 said:

Archmania is just going to become even crazier over the summer leading into our rematch with ohio state. 

Especially when we win and Arch accounted for 4 TDs. 

[thatdude2]

Honestly people are asking the wrong question. How many times will Arch get flashed on the road this season? There are some scalawags/gold diggers always looking to get saved.

[thatdude2]

2 minutes ago, 4thandFive said:

Especially when we win and Arch accounted for 4 TDs. 

That's 4 TDs in the first half!

[NothinButDaHorns34]

25 minutes ago, 4thandFive said:

Especially when we win and Arch accounted for 4 TDs. 

 

22 minutes ago, thatdude2 said:

That's 4 TDs in the first half!

How are yall going to feel if we win, But arch throws four interceptions? I am very intrigued to see how the high, teetering on ridiculous expectations folks react to arch when he has bad games in the live game threads. 

[CJ Vogel]

Love it.

Arch and his family have a great approach to all of this.

[Burnt Orange Horn]

It is sad when I see questions in the OTF YT Comments and on the board discussions like,  "If Arch wins the Heisman and the Natty this year, why would he return to Texas?"

🤦🏻‍♂️

[4thandFive]

1 hour ago, NothinButDaHorns34 said:

 

How are yall going to feel if we win, But arch throws four interceptions? I am very intrigued to see how the high, teetering on ridiculous expectations folks react to arch when he has bad games in the live game threads. 

It’s football and it happens. But I do think Arch will live up to the hype more often than not.

[Jarveaux]

Jeff love your article, agree with absolutely everything you said & sark said. Going to be a great year ! “Hookem “