Arch Manning’s brother reveals what the Longhorns QB is really like and how they’re adjusting to life at Texas

To Heid Manning, his older brother Arch is just his older brother. He’s not Arch Manning, Texas starting quarterback.

Heid sees a goofy 20-year-old who likes to talk about girls, avoid the spotlight and go eat at Cabo Bob’s, one of the coolest taco joints in Austin.

Heid Manning is 20 months younger than Arch, and he admits some people questioned his decision to follow Arch to the University of Texas as a regular student. But Heid is a huge supportive pillar in his brother’s life as Arch Manning’s aura rockets into the next stratosphere this fall as the Longhorns’ starting quarterback.

Heid Manning covered multiple topics during a 30-minute interview with Texas Sports Unfiltered on Monday with hosts Chip Brown and Zay Collier.

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“They were kind of like, ‘Hey, Heid. Do you really want to go kind of live in your brother's shadow?,’” Heid Manning said. “But, I mean, I've never really thought about it like that.

“I think especially in New Orleans, like, no one really cared about the whole — to people in New Orleans and to all of our friends, it was just kind of Arch and Heid, not like Arch and Hyde Manning. So that never really affected me when we were in New Orleans.”

Heid Manning was the starting center his sophomore and junior year while Arch was the starting quarterback at New Orleans Isidore Newman. When Arch left for Texas, Heid moved over to right tackle. Cooper Manning, their father, kept both of his sons grounded and said “don’t ever listen” to all the recruiting talk. “It’s all just fluff,” Heid said.

“I think Maxpreps posted something like, Arch Manning younger brother rising O-line recruit,” Heid said. “I was not an O-line recruit. I was 5-10, 220 pounds as a center. No one was recruiting me. The less you listen to all the media, I think the better you are.”

Maybe that’s why Arch Manning got off Instagram recently and is known for leaving his phone in his room. For as serious as Arch is about football, he wants to have a normal life, too. After all, they grew up as normal kids. Arch had the famous poster of Michael Jordan’s arms-open wingspan on his wall; Heid had the famous Farrah Fawcett bikini poster.

Heid remembers how Arch’s recruiting visits stacked up — first was Georgia, then Alabama and finally Texas.

“I remember him asking sort of a lot of questions away from football, nothing about the dollars or the NIL,” Heid said. “He was asking, like, am I going to be able to get away in Austin and maybe go somewhere where people don’t recognize me as much?

“And out of Tuscaloosa, Athens and Austin, it’s easily Austin for that. I think you can go to East Austin or South Congress, a little more of those kind of quirky and millennial-run neighborhoods. On campus, it’s different. You get more people stopping for pictures, but sort of in different areas. He’s just kind of, is there anywhere I can lay low?

“And he loves his privacy, and he loves not being in the spotlight. So I think that was a big part for him.”

Heid Manning is the total opposite. Heid joined a fraternity and joked with his brother that he’s ready for the full college experience. “I think Arch got the athleticism and sort of Peyton’s kind of serious tone and his drive,” Heid said, “and I definitely got sort of my dad’s charisma and sort of the funny parts.”

But Heid is quick to point out that he and Arch have a terrific friendship as the two become young adults. “I've never really been jealous of him, and he's never really been jealous of me,” Heid said. “We kind of both had our own things, and we've always appreciated each other for that.”

If anyone is needed to keep both boys straight, they look to their older sister, May, a senior at Virginia. May Manning may be the most athletically talented family member of them all. She was a varsity volleyball player as an eighth grader and team captain her high school sophomore year, Heid said.

“She’s like the glue guy; she keeps the family together,” Heid said. “She doesn’t get enough credit for Arch and my development.”

Heid said Arch had a hard time playing for 2 1/2 games last season and then going back to backup quarterback status. But that’s not the case anymore. Arch Manning will be the face of the program in 2025… and maybe 2026, too.

“He’s a very natural leader,” Heid said. “He was always the hardest worker in the locker room.”

Heid remembers how in high school, the coach went around the locker room noting how many people watched game film. Most players watched about 30 minutes.

“They’d be like, Arch watched six hours of film,” Heid said. “He kind of put his head down, like everyone’s staring at him. He’s just kind of a quiet guy, leads by example.

“And, yeah, I think he’s always been a great leader, and he’s very comfortable being a leader.”