After suffering a 14-7 Week 1 loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes, all eyes were on how Arch Manning and the Texas Longhorns would respond in Week 2. It’s fair to say the defense maintained its elite-level play, allowing just seven points against the San Jose State Spartans. And while Arch Manning bounced back with a strong stat line, there are still several red flags to his game, particularly from an NFL Draft perspective.
Arch Manning Shines in Texas Football Blowout Win Over San Jose State
Manning completed just 17 of 30 passes for 170 yards, one touchdown, and one interception against the Buckeyes’ vaunted defense, but didn’t take long to flash once more against the Spartans.
In Texas’ 38-7 victory, Manning went 19 of 30 for 295 yards, four TDs, and one INT, adding another score on the ground to boot — all with six minutes still to go in the fourth quarter.
Can’t touch @archmanning 🤘 pic.twitter.com/dxTXeEIE15
— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) September 6, 2025
The 6’3″, 225-pound redshirt sophomore had no issue showcasing his size-athleticism combination, proving he’s a legitimate threat on the ground. What made his statline more impressive is that fact that he started the outing 3 for 6 for 11 yards in the opening two drives of the game.
From then until the final whistle of the second quarter, he launched four passing TDs, two to rising star WR Parker Livingstone and two more to TE Jack Endries. Yet, while the raw numbers were rather impressive, the tape paints a different picture — one Manning hopes to alter as the season continues.
Major NFL Draft Questions Remain for Manning
Let’s get the positives out of the way first. Manning has the size and speed the NFL looks for at the position, and based on last season’s tape, the arm as well.
Of course, the name on the back of his jersey helps, as does his five-star recruiting pedigree. But Manning earned that designation throughout his high school career and showed several flashes as Quinn Ewers’ backup the past two years.
There, the foundation is set. Now, time to break it.
Against Ohio State, Manning looked frantic under center, struggled with his pocket presence, repeatedly faded and drifted, appeared nervous to take hits, kept his eyes down looking at the rush instead of downfield, showed a lack of mechanical discipline, was late on numerous throws, displayed a severe lack of pitch variety (routinely threw fastballs), and, most concerningly, had a lack of zip on his passes at all levels of the field.
That’s not what Steve Sarkisian expected to trot out at QB, especially when Manning was heralded as the Second Coming, with many even believing the Longhorns could’ve won the national championship had he started over Ewers. They were wrong.
Manning just isn’t ready to be the face of a college program, let alone an NFL franchise. He was clearly uncomfortable dropping back, with his timing and mechanics all over the place.
In fact, former NFL QB Kurt Benkert pointed out Manning’s seemingly labored delivery, which could be compensating for an undisclosed shoulder injury.
“Arch clearly has a shoulder injury. They definitely aren’t disclosing it,” Benkert said. “He has zero power and has to put everything he can into it. Wouldn’t be shocked if he strained it in camp. Doesn’t change the fact that his decision-making has been really bad – I’m not glazing anything, I’m calling it as I see it.”
Yes, starting on the road against the reigning national champs with an NFL-level defensive coordinator calling the plays is far from the ideal start, but that doesn’t make up for an utter lack of accuracy and vision downfield.
The worst part is, he didn’t look much better against the Spartans. The stat line was improved, but watching the film shows a QB who isn’t seeing the field properly, needing to put his whole body into throws, and currently doesn’t have the arm to compensate for being late on reads.
Now, Manning’s arm wasn’t an issue last season, hence Benkurt’s injury question. Sarkisian’s pro-style offense is also a lot for young passers to handle, so we should see Manning improve in that department as the year goes on.
But if we don’t, Texas is in for a long and difficult season that likely results in disappointment against top-tier teams.
KEEP READING: Which College Football Teams Remain Undefeated Through Week 2?
Regardless, Manning isn’t a first-round 2026 NFL Draft prospect right now. That may not matter, as he will likely return to Austin, Texas, in 2025. His grandfather, Archie Manning, declared as much this summer, stating, “Arch isn’t going to do that. He’ll be at Texas.”
With health and operational improvement permitting, Manning could hear his name called No. 1 overall … just not next April.