Texas coach Steve Sarkisian talks Arch Manning and the 2026 NFL Draft

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HOUSTON — After Texas had a school-record 12 players chosen in the 2025 NFL Draft, there’s plenty of curiosity about who might fill the next Longhorns draft class and whether quarterback Arch Manning will be part of that group.

Manning, the former No. 1 recruit, grandson of Archie Manning and nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning, will be the full-time starter for Texas for the first time this season. During a speaking engagement Monday at the Touchdown Club of Houston, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian was asked by a fan in attendance whether Manning, who will be draft eligible in 2026, will remain at Texas after this season.

“Here’s what I hope,” Sarkisian said as the crowd chuckled. “I hope he’s got a really hard decision to make on about Jan. 21. That means we played a long time, that means we 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. I hope that it’s not a no-brainer to come back to school, you know what I mean?”

The College Football Playoff national championship game is Jan. 19. The Longhorns have made consecutive appearances in the Playoff semifinals, falling one step short of the title game each of the last two years behind quarterback Quinn Ewers. Sarkisian is hopeful the Longhorns can make it all the way to the final game this season as Manning takes the reins.

But he cautioned the crowd to not rush to look to the future.

“Arch is a great player, and I hope for everybody here we don’t get too far ahead of ourselves,” Sarkisian said. “Let’s let this guy go play this year. Let’s let him have fun and finally get 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.

“And I hope he just has an opportunity to enjoy it and enjoy it the right way because, like a lot of guys on our team, he’s been dreaming about this his whole life and now he gets the opportunity to go do it. I just want to make sure that we all support him in this journey, as well.”

Thanks for coming out to Fan Day, y’all! 🤘😌 pic.twitter.com/4smC0e51Xw

— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) April 28, 2025

Manning redshirted in 2023 as a true freshman and served as Ewers’ backup last season, starting two games and appearing in 10. Manning threw for 939 yards and nine touchdowns and ran for four more.

During a media briefing prior to his address, Sarkisian lauded Manning for the work he did with the Longhorns during spring practice, which concluded Saturday. Sarkisian said Manning “had to lead” because it’s his third year in Sarkisian’s offense and there are many new faces around Manning because of roster churn and players who were sidelined with injuries.

“He’s really had to lead with the knowledge base that he gained the last two years,” Sarkisian said. “Not every play might be perfect. A guy might run the wrong route or not run a route at the right depth, or an offensive line(man) might not make the right line call to pick up a pressure. And so it really forced him to have those offline conversations when his series was done to help lead younger players, like those older players helped lead him when he was a young player. So, I thought it was great for him.”

During his opening address to the crowd, Sarkisian mentioned that he and Manning “opted out” of the photo shoot for the Rose Bowl for EA Sports College Football 26. A leak of the photo shoot surfaced in March and included several top players and coaches from across the sport, including Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith and safety Caleb Downs, Florida quarterback DJ Lagway, LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, Penn State running back Nick Singleton and Alabama wide receiver Ryan Williams, as well as Ohio State coach Ryan Day, Georgia’s Kirby Smart, Penn State’s James Franklin, Arizona State’s Kenny Dillingham and Ole Miss’ Lane Kiffin.

Sarkisian also discussed the Longhorns’ successful draft weekend, the second consecutive year Texas had more than 10 players chosen. Sarkisian said he was “surprised” that Ewers lasted until the seventh round. Ewers, who started 36 games, threw for 9,128 yards and 68 touchdowns while carrying a 27-9 record as a starter, had a third-round draft grade, according to The Athletic’s Dane Brugler.

“I feel for Quinn,” Sarkisian said. “He was a great player for us. I think about a lot of the people who have come into this program over the last four years that have impacted the growth and the trajectory of our program, and he’s right there near the top, if not at the top.”

Sarkisian said the Miami Dolphins, who selected Ewers  at No. 231, are a “great fit” for him schematically because of how similar their offense is to what Texas does. Sarkisian also touched on the debate over whether Ewers should have considered going back to school and taken substantial name, image and likeness money to transfer elsewhere for one more year rather than go pro.

“I think all of us wish he would have gotten drafted higher,” Sarkisian said. “But I also think it’s ironic in that so many things are written and talked about the players from a negative standpoint that transfer schools or stay in school to take more money, like it’s a negative. But all of a sudden, here’s a guy that said, ‘I wanted to leave a legacy at Texas, and I wanted to go play in the NFL,’ and now they’re knocking it for not taking the money in college.

“So I don’t know which side of the fence everybody sits on that. But in the end, I think it just speaks to the character of him of what he believed in and what he stood for. Nobody wanted to win a national championship as much or more than Quinn on our team in the last couple years. And I don’t think anybody felt it more than he did when we didn’t beat Ohio State. … In the end, it wasn’t about going to another school, it was about the next part of the journey in his career and in his life, and that was going to the NFL.”

(Photo: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)

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