Arch Manning Named Preseason Favorite for Davey O'Brien Award

The 2025 college football season draws nearer, and with that, the Arch Manning hype continues. 

The Texas Longhorns redshirt sophomore quarterback just earned the starting position ahead of this season, but due to how highly he was rated as a prospect and his last name, Manning has been a major subject in college football news since he came on the scene in 2023.

He has earned his time to prove himself, and many analysts anticipate he will live up to the lofty expectations fans and experts have for him.

2025 Davey O’brien Award Predictions

Manning recently earned recognition as the favorite to win the 2025 Davey O’Brien Award, an honor presented annually to the nation’s top quarterback. 

The award, named after former TCU quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Davey O’Brien, is one of high prestige for college quarterbacks. A subset of the Davey O’Brien National Selection Committee chooses the preseason favorites list, and a midseason watch list will likely be released in late October. 

Manning and the rest of the Longhorns will be tested multiple times before this midseason point, which could help reveal if he should still be in contention for the award. The Longhorns will face both the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Florida Gators on the road before late October rolls around, along with meeting the Oklahoma Sooners in Dallas for the Red River Rivalry.

Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin, Florida quarterback DJ Lagway and Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer have also been named to the preseason watch list, along with two other quarterbacks that the Longhorns will matchup against this year.

No SEC schedule is an easy one, but Manning seeks to lead his team as best he can and potentially live up to the legacies of Texas quarterbacks who came before him. 

Former Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers earned recognition on the Davey O’Brien Award preseason watch list for two consecutive years in 2023 and 2024. Although he never won the award at the season’s conclusion, three Longhorns who came before him did. The names of the three Longhorns who won in years past read as follows: Earl Campbell (1977), Vince Young (2005) and Colt McCoy (2009).

Former Miami Hurricanes quarterback Cameron Ward earned the award last year after logging 4,313 passing yards for 39 passing touchdowns, 204 rushing yards, and just seven interceptions.

Needless to say, the bar for recipients of this award stands tall. 

If Manning has the season that several have predicted him to have, he could stay on par to be the 2025 recipient. However, between now and the end of the season, Manning and the rest of his team have several tough opponents to take care of and pressing challenges to address in order to advance to the College Football Playoff.