Ahead of the new college football season, Arch Manning is carrying the weight of every expectation. He is the Texas Longhorns’ championship hope. Experts believe he will be a Heisman contender, and if he chooses to enter the NFL, he’s projected to be a top-five draft pick.
With two years of development behind him and the QB1 reins finally in hand, the former No. 1 recruit is stepping into the spotlight in Austin. He’s truly special.
Recently, while praising what makes Arch unique, his uncle Peyton Manning said he got that special moxie from his dad.
Uncle Peyton Manning Reveals What Arch Manning Is Built On
Arch enters the 2025 season with just 939 passing yards and nine touchdowns from last year. The numbers may be modest, but the impact is not. He went 61-for-90 to produce those stats. His patience and development under head coach Steve Sarkisian have impressed not only the community but also his Manning family.
At this point in his career, it feels like he’s destined to carry the Manning legacy. However, Pat McAfee believes the term moxie makes the 21-year-old QB truly special. According to Peyton, it came from Arch’s father, Cooper Manning.
“That moxie, I mean, that was his dad,” Arch’s uncle said on the Pat McAfee show. “Cooper was a cocky wide receiver that was open every time in the huddle. I think my sophomore year in high school, I was a senior. I completed 120 passes that year. I threw 90 of them to my brother, and he would have liked all 120. He didn’t care about the other guys. That was Cooper.”
“Arch got that moxie from his dad and his speed is gonna help him..
He understands when he needs to make a play with his legs” ~ Peyton Manning #PMSLive https://t.co/newrQE146n pic.twitter.com/PcS2qaNsJK
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) June 30, 2025
Peyton added, “I think that little swagger comes from his dad and that’s good to see. Look, Archie’s got to be his own person and he can move. Yeah, my dad’s sort of speed sort of skipped a generation, skipped me and Eli. And I think Arch has that, which helps him.”
Cooper was a standout wide receiver in high school and had committed to play at Ole Miss. Unfortunately, his football career was cut short at age 18 due to a spinal condition called spinal stenosis. Peyton believes that reckless behavior cost his father’s career.
While Cooper might be critiqued for that approach, Uncle Peyton wants Arch to learn from it. It is good that he got that moxie from his dad, but Peyton also reminded him that he has to protect his body and make smart choices. When he said, “don’t repeat Cooper’s mistake,” he was urging Arch to learn from the past.
