QB Arch Manning to return to Texas for 2026 season

Quarterback Arch Manning will return to Texas for the 2026 season, his father informed ESPN late Monday night.

"Arch is playing football at Texas next year," Cooper Manning wrote in a text to the network.

The nephew of Super Bowl MVPs Peyton and Eli and grandson of Archie Manning, Arch is eligible to declare for the 2026 NFL Draft. As a redshirt sophomore, he has two more seasons of eligibility.

The younger Manning was seen as a Heisman Trophy candidate and potential No. 1 overall draft pick in 2026 before enduring a slow start to this season.

He completed 227 of 370 pass attempts for 2,942 yards with 24 touchdowns and seven interceptions this season for No. 13 Texas (9-3), which plays No. 18 Michigan (9-3) on Dec. 31 in the Citrus Bowl. The 6-foot-4 Manning also rushed for 244 yards and eight scores.

"He's a young man who's gotten better as the season's gone on, and not only physically, but mentally, maturity-wise," Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian said at a recent media event in Orlando, Fla. "I would think he's going to want another year of that growth to put himself in position for hopefully a long career in the NFL. And he's got some unfinished business of what he came here to do and what he came here to accomplish.

"We had a really good football season. We left some meat on the bone with an opportunity to be SEC champs, national champs, and so ultimately for him, I think the competitor in him is going to say, 'Man, I sure would like another crack at trying to do those things.'"

--Field Level Media