Sara Diggins / Austin American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Arch Manning, Matthew McConaughey Photo Draws Attention on Wednesday

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Cole Sullivan | Last updated Aug 13, 2025 5:27 PM ET

The Texas Longhorns are one of the most intriguing teams heading into the 2025 college football season.

Ranked No. 1 in the preseason AP Poll, the expectations in Austin are sky-high, with hopes of capturing an SEC Championship and winning the national title — something they’ve fallen short of in each of the last two seasons in the College Football Playoff.

This year, the offense will be led by a new face under center, as former five-star recruit and nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning, Arch Manning, takes over for Quinn Ewers after spending the past two seasons as a backup.

With just over two weeks until their season opener in Columbus against the No. 3 ranked and defending national champion Ohio State Buckeyes on Aug. 30, the Longhorns were greeted by a familiar face at practice on Wednesday.

Actor Matthew McConaughey Meets Up With Arch Manning

Famous actor and avid Texas fan Matthew McConaughey, one of the Longhorns’ biggest supporters, made an appearance at practice and was spotted in a photo chatting with Arch Manning — a moment that, as expected, drew plenty of attention.

Check it out:

Arch Manning and Matthew McConaughey pic.twitter.com/TylViAk59V
— Arch Manning Highlights (@ArchHighlights) August 13, 2025

Fans reacted to the photo:

"Aura," a fan said.

Someone else added, "My Faves."

Another person wrote, "Arch is a good sized dude…"

"Arch looks like a brick house!" One more fan commented.

Good vibes only @McConaughey pic.twitter.com/QA46mYWCFu
— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) August 13, 2025

Manning has spoken highly of McConaughey on several occasions, but at SEC Media Days he referred to him as “my dog,” calling the Oscar winner his favorite actor of all time.

Also, when asked about being one of the most famous figures in Austin right now, Manning didn’t hesitate to say he still takes a back seat to McConaughey.

“I don’t know, we got a bunch of famous people in Austin,” Manning said. “We got Matthew McConaughey rolling around, so I’m definitely in his shadow.”

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: