Arch Manning is about to play his final regular-season game of 2025 against No. 3 Texas A&M this weekend. And boy, the noise around his NFL Draft future is getting loud again. With the Aggies on deck, Arch could literally spike his draft stock if he decides to go against his grandpa’s wishes and enter the draft this year.

On November 26, college football insider CJ Vowel hopped onto the On Texas Football podcast and believes Arch Manning will ball out against Mike Elko’s defense:

“Arch is gonna light it up. I mean, that’s what he’s been doing the last half of the season. Get a lot more help from the offensive line.”

Say what you want to say about Manning’s first half, you can’t deny the fact that the former 5-star is literally putting up Heisman numbers in the second half of the season.

Plus, this might be the last time Arch Manning plays a regular season of college football. Arch Manning hinted at that back in August, going directly against his grandpa’s wish that he play two full seasons in college as a starter. Arch quickly shut that down, saying he’s just going “day by day.”

This minor disagreement has everyone wondering if going against the Manning way will ultimately be a dangerous move for his draft stock or if he’ll regret not listening to his grandfather. By even hinting he might bounce early, Arch is breaking the mold. That puts a ton of pressure on this A&M game to prove he’s 100% ready for the big leagues. But if you look at Arch Manning’s second-half form, he’d be fine.

After losing to Florida back in October, the team totally turned it around. They started clicking, racking up crucial wins, and keeping their very long-shot College Football Playoff dreams alive. That wouldn’t be possible without Arch Manning. CJ Vowels doubled down on Arch Manning praise.

“Arch Manning is coming into his own. He’s become a quarterback that I think many people expected he wouldn’t. In the Heisman race if Texas would have in a better season.”

No lie there.

Arch Manning has been absolutely lights-out lately. The guy looks like a different player compared to those early-season struggles. He’s been putting up fantastic numbers every week, including a crazy game against Arkansas where he threw for nearly 400 yards and four touchdowns, becoming the first guy in Texas to have passing, rushing, and catching touchdowns in a game.

Those 2,763 passing yards explain why most teams in the NFL would love to pick him up. After having five interceptions in the first six, he reduced that to two interceptions in the next five. Manning’s got his mojo back.

Now it all comes down to the finale against the undefeated, No. 3-ranked Texas A&M Aggies. If Arch balls out this week, which he’s likely to do, then he won’t have any problem hitting the draft, even if it goes against his grandpa’s wishes, hopefully.

Longhorns veteran believes Manning’s rise is just getting started

Texas safety Michael Taaffe was asked who he’d give his Heisman vote to after facing several top quarterbacks this season. He didn’t hesitate: “Arch Manning.”

Reporters chuckled, but Taaffe meant it.

“I think he’s the most hated-on person in all of college football, and he doesn’t even care. He just cares about winning and his teammates,” he said.

Manning’s recent numbers support Taaffe. Over the last four games, Manning has averaged 328.5 passing yards, with 11 touchdowns and a 57.9% pass completion rate. For the season, he’s at 2,763 yards and 23 touchdowns, ranking among the best Power Four quarterbacks on ranked teams.

When told about the praise, Manning smiled and shook it off. Asked if he felt like the most criticized player in the country, he joked.

“No, I’m liked by my team!”