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Longtime NFL reporter hints at how long quarterback Arch Manning will stay at Texas

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Zach Ragan | Last updated Dec 11, 2024 4:50 PM ET

Plenty of NFL fans are already looking forward to the 2026 NFL Draft with hopes that their favorite team will draft Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning.

The former five-star recruit will be a redshirt sophomore in 2025. He's expected to be the Longhorns' starting quarterback next fall.

Manning will be eligible for the 2026 NFL Draft, but that doesn't mean he plans on leaving Texas early.

Longtime NFL reporter/columnist/author Gary Myers noted in a post to Twitter/X.com on Wednesday that he was told that Manning "loves it at Texas" and "wants the full college experience" like his uncles (Peyton and Eli) and his grandfather (Archie) had.

"Money is not an issue in the NIL era," wrote Myers. "And his family is well off, giving him the luxury of staying in college. I'm told he loves it at Texas and wants the full college experience like his uncles and grandfather had. Arch played well in a handful of starts when Quinn Ewers was injured this year and should have gotten more playing time. Maybe he will in the playoffs. He looks like he's going to be a great player. He can throw it like the rest of his family and runs and is a great athlete like Archie."

Atrocious for Arch? Awful for Arch?
Should the Giants and Jets wait on Arch Manning? Sources close to the Manning family told me it's likely going to be a long three-year wait. The nephew of @EliManning and Peyton and grandson of Archie, will start for Texas as a redshirt…
— Gary Myers (@GaryMyersNY) December 11, 2024

Based on the way Manning has handled his college experience so far -- such as not even entertaining the idea of transferring when Quinn Ewers announced his return to Texas for the 2024 season -- it seems unlikely that the young quarterback will declare for the NFL draft after the 2025 season.

The entire Manning family is big on development. They know Manning, regardless of how talented he is, needs as many college starts as he can get before he goes off to the NFL.

"The fact that you can transfer so easily now doesn't mean you should do it just because you're not playing right away," said Eli earlier this year. "A lot of quarterbacks, when I was in college, that was always the game plan. You redshirt, you sit a year, you have three years of eligibility. That's what I did at Ole Miss and I think it helped me. And I think Arch, I know he wants to play and he's itching to get in there. But being patient, continuing to learn, can be very helpful as well."

Peyton eschewed the NFL for a final season at Tennessee in 1997. Eli spent five seasons at Ole Miss before heading to the NFL (he redshirted as a true freshman in 1999). It would be a break from family tradition for Arch to declare after his redshirt sophomore season.

Maybe Arch declares for the NFL draft after his redshirt junior season and heads to the NFL in 2027. Or maybe he exhausts all of his college eligibility and waits until 2028.

Either way, I wouldn't expect Manning to leave Austin for the NFL with just one season of starting experience under his belt.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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