Cooper Manning is keeping it real when it comes to his expectations for son Arch at Texas next season.
Arch Manning is expected to take over the starting quarterback job for coach Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns next season after two years of sitting behind Quinn Ewers, who declared for the 2025 NFL Draft.
Cooper, who didn’t rise to the NFL level of his brothers Peyton and Eli due to a spinal stenosis diagnosis before college, feels that sitting for most of the past two seasons will be beneficial for his son in the long run.
He also talked about being prepared for the struggles and challenges that are going to come Arch’s way as he moves to the starting role during an appearance on “The Dan Patrick Show.”
“I think having your children struggle with some things is good. Yeah, it’s frustrating not to play. Did he love it? No. Was it probably good for him in the long run? Yes,” Cooper Manning said. “You don’t want your kiddos to come home and be unhappy, but at the same time, sometimes going through a little hardship and some bumps in the road are good. Arch is going to have plenty more of those. These are the real ones, when you get beat this year and have bad games.”
Arch Manning did get some significant experience last season as Texas went 13-3 before losing to eventual national champion Ohio State in the College Football Playoff semifinals.
He played in 10 games, while winning both his starts, and completed 61 of 90 passes for 939 yards, nine touchdowns and two interceptions.
Cooper Manning knows the spotlight and the expectations are only going to ramp up this season.
“I mean, you know how they do it in the media, they crown you way too early and then they jump on and kill ya,” Cooper Manning said. “So he’s getting way too much attention and way too much credit and he’s going to struggle, and they’re going to say ‘He’s not as good, he’s overrated!’ It’s coming, everybody knows it.”
Arch Manning, who recently signed a NIL deal with Red Bull, has seemed to handle it all pretty well so far, even admitting during an interview with ESPN last week that he’s received “undeserved attention” because of his last name.
“I don’t think I’ve done enough yet to be taking a lot of pictures at restaurants and signing autographs,” Arch Manning said. “But maybe that will come eventually.”
