Arch Manning has been in the spotlight since his junior year at Isidore Newman High School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Not only is Manning a former five-star recruit Texas Longhorns quarterback, but he’s also the nephew of NFL legends, Peyton and Eli Manning.
The attention that Manning gets almost makes it hard for the media and fans to remember that he’s still just a 21-year-old kid trying to create his own legacy, and now his head coach, Steve Sarkisian, is opening up on who Manning is off the field.
Steve Sarkisian Gives Insight into Who Arch Manning is Off the Field
Steve Sarkisian has known Arch Manning for a long time. The Texas Longhorns head coach began recruiting the young quarterback in 2021, eventually getting him to commit to Texas in 2022. Heading into the 2025 season, Manning has been in Sarkisian’s quarterback room for over two years.
On the “Third and Longhorn” podcast, Steve Sarksian explained how he could tell Arch was a good kid during his recruitment because of how welcoming and warm his family was.
“If you’ve ever been around his mom, his dad, his brother, his sister, they are awesome people,” Sarksian said. “Down-to-earth great people, and that gave us a real indicator that this kid is just a normal down-to-earth kid.
In addition to Manning’s immediate family being so kind, Sarkisian also mentioned that his uncles, Peyton and Eli, never got involved in Arch’s recruitment, which further demonstrated to Sarkisian how normal Manning wanted his recruitment to be.
“During the recruiting process, nowhere in that time did I get a call from Peyton, did I get a call from Eli, it wasn’t about the uncles, it was always about their family,” Sarkisan said.
When it comes to Arch’s personality when he’s not on the field, Sarksian says that he’s just like the rest of his teammates and the average 21-year-old kid.
“He’s a fun-loving, easy-going guy,” Sarkisian said. He later added, “He’s just a normal guy, he’s a good teammate that his teammates love.”
As fans, it’s not often that we get insight into what our favorite players are like. We often view them as just athletes rather than people, so it was cool to see Sarkisian speak on Arch’s character more than his play.
Manning will enter the 2025 season as the starting quarterback for Texas for the first time in his career, and it’s clear that he will have a strong support system of his coaching staff, teammates, and family as he leads the new era of Texas football.
