Media hype and fan pressure can do worse to a player than you can imagine. And nobody has felt that heavier than Arch Manning who was already crowned a future No. 1 pick by sports outlets. That was in 2025 and the Texas QB hadn’t even crossed 100 career pass attempts then. But that’s the reality of carrying the Manning name in college football and it has a lot to do with growing mental pains, as Steve Sarkisian pointed out.

“Mental health is a very big issue right now in college athletics,” Steve Sarkisian said during Mental Health Awareness Week. “So much has changed from NIL to revenue sharing to social media. There’s so much more added pressure on players and student athletes these days.”

Things have changed a lot. College football is no longer just football. It’s branding and valuation and nonstop public judgment at the expense of these young players who are still struggling with their emotions as an individual. 

“We’ve got to do a great job as an athletic department in supporting them,” he added. “So they can be in the best frame of mind to not only play well, but just to be healthy and to be great human beings. And I think we’ve got a responsibility to support them in that.”

Arch Manning became the perfect example of pressure turning mental. Last September, Texas entered the season believing their QB would smoothly transition from hyped backup to superstar starter. Instead, the first few weeks looked tense and mentally exhausting. He did have good moments against San Jose State where he threw for 295 yards and four touchdowns. 

But before that came a rough outing against Ohio State in a 14-7 loss where Arch Manning managed only 170 yards and one score. Then came the dark phase. Against UTEP, he completed just 11 of 25 passes for 114 yards. His confidence and timing looked off. And afterward, he admitted the truth about his struggles. 

“Quite mental to be honest,” he said. “I think I just need to go out there and play my game.”

Talent was never the issue. Nobody questions whether Arch Manning can throw a football. The issue was what happens when a 20-year-old QB starts carrying the emotional weight of a million opinions before he’s even settled into being a starter. The Manning last name makes everything louder as his uncles Peyton and Eli both won Super Bowls. People expect the same kind of success. That kind of pressure can mess with your head.

Even Longhorns junior OL Trevor Goosby acknowledged how overwhelming the environment can become.

“It’s very important,” he said. “Obviously coming to Texas, it’s a big pressure. We’re such a big university. It’s a big pressure on us to play great. And I just think it’s really important as well to take care of y’all’s mental health and to make sure that you’re doing okay because it’s okay to not be okay.”

At Texas, that phrase feels like survival advice because the season could’ve completely unraveled for Arch Manning mentally. 

Arch Manning opens up on last season’s pressure

Further down the road against Florida, two fourth-quarter interceptions turned a close game into a painful loss. Against Kentucky, the offense sputtered through an ugly performance despite escaping with a win. At one point, Arch Manning admitted he simply wasn’t enjoying football.

“I think I could have had more fun,” he said. “The first half of the season, I was (ticked). I wasn’t playing well and it wasn’t fun for me.”

That’s the part of QB pressure we don’t see. Interests become burdens when expectations become suffocating. And for Arch Manning, football, at one point, stopped being the game he loves. But then something changed.

“And then I kind of sort of said ‘screw it’ and had a little more fun and started winning some games,” he recounted. 

And that’s when the real Arch Manning started appearing. Against Mississippi State, he threw for 346 yards and three touchdowns. Then against top-10 Vanderbilt, he completed 25-of-33 passes with three scores and zero interceptions. That’s what happens when talented QBs stop overthinking every mistake. 

Texas ultimately finished 10-3 with a Citrus Bowl win over Michigan. And while the playoff dream slipped away, the ending is important because it showed what Arch Manning could become once the mental stress disappeared.