Was Arch Manning’s 2025 year a disaster? If looking at two polar extremes of hype and expectations, it’s a yes. But that’s not how a first-year starter should be graded. In reality, he returns in 2026 as a more mature QB, worthy of winning the Heisman. FanDuel even gave him the best odds to do that. But his father, Cooper Manning, is not paying heed to that “noise.”

“Those sorts of things are not even discussed,” Cooper Manning said to Videogamer.com. “Any sort of individual awards and all that stuff is just noise. He could give a hoot about any of that stuff. It’s all about being with your teammates, trying to get better individually, but also as an offense, and executing. If you do that, you know good things will happen.”

Arch Manning’s 2025 season was put under a microscope more than any other player in college football. He was the FanDuel favorite to win the Heisman with +600 odds in the preseason, and the media expected him to largely justify his last name. Judging by those standards, Arch’s 3,163 passing yard performance at 61.4% accuracy lagged far behind expectations. However, it was often overlooked that the 21-year-old was facing significant challenges in 2025.

Texas had the highest-ranked pass-blocking O-line in the country in the 2024 season. However, in 2025, the O-line faltered, ranking 43rd amongst Power-4 teams. Even in that scenario, Arch showed why he is still a first-round draftable pick in 2026, as ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky echoed. However, he made the decision to return to Texas in 2026.

The New Orleans native had more passing yards (874) under pressure than any other QB in the country. He operated effortlessly in tight windows and manipulated the pocket as well as any other QB in college football. Of course, he took some heat early on in the season, but later Arch’s performances improved, and he was even named the MVP of the Michigan bowl game.

In his final five games with Texas, Arch scored 15 touchdowns and threw just one interception. That’s improvement at its peak. Now, the goal is to learn, improve some areas, and give his all in the spring ball, keeping his head down. “Everybody’s looking to spring, getting to know some of these new teammates. I know he’s excited about being on the 40 Acres and seeing what he can do,” Cooper Manning said.

Even with a “disastrous” season, as many analysts grade it, Arch showed playmaking skills. The Texas QB1 exhibited his prowess as a scrambler, attacked aggressively in designated runs, and chunked plays when required. That showed when he scored a rushing touchdown against Texas A&M, accumulating a total of 53 rushing yards. Thereafter, against Michigan, Arch ran for 155 yards and scored two touchdowns. Despite the improvement, Arch must address some tangible areas to succeed with Texas in 2026.

Arch Manning has a long road of improvement ahead with Texas in 2026

Decision-making is one area where the Longhorns’ QB1 struggled massively in 2025. He gave away two interceptions against Florida and became more conservative in his decisions. In the first 5 games for Texas, Arch executed 6.7% of turnover-worthy plays, which improved in the final two games of the season. In those two games, Arch had zero turnover-worthy plays, even when his Average Depth of Target increased to 13.7 yards.

Another area where young Manning struggled was in his plays when given a binary choice. The 21-year-old was exceptional, going 1-to-2-to-3 in full field reads. But in choosing one side, he easily missed open receivers, faltering massively. Ball placement is another issue where Arch Manning must work, as he left many second-chance plays through simple misses.

In total, the Texas QB1 completed just 69.7% of passes in 0-9-yard situations and ranked second-last in the country in that area. Those balls from shallow drags and flat routes that Arch missed hurt Texas, and in 2026, the issues must be resolved. Last thing on Arch’s list should be becoming a franchise-level QB.

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Of course, anyone can put up stats in college, but throwing those deep screamers, layering passes, and throws that develop as “you see them” are NFL-level traits. We haven’t seen those Mahomes-level no-look passes from Arch yet, or those pump-fake shoulder fakes that manipulate defenders with the eyes. That said, time is on Arch Manning’s side, and he has a full preseason ahead in his pocket. Expect Arch Manning to improve massively.