Sometimes the most telling highlight doesn’t come from an arm, but from the legs that leave defenders behind. And if you’ve Manning as your last name, then it’s the cherry on the cake. That’s the case with Arch Manning—nephew to former NFL quarterbacks, Peyton and Eli Manning. Back in September 2024, against UTSA, he broke loose for a 67-yard run that turned heads, not because he scored, but because of how he moved. He hit 20.7 mph on that play, faster than Tyreek Hill that same weekend.

A few weeks earlier, in fall camp drills, he’d quietly posted a sub-4.6 40-yard dash. For a quarterback, especially one carrying the weight of the Manning name, that’s not a small note. The Longhorns’ quarterback landed between Patrick Mahomes (4.8s) and Lamar Jackson (4.34). The quarterbacking talent runs in the bloodline, sure. But that speed? That’s all his. Neither Eli nor Peyton ever had that gear, and they’d probably be the first to admit it.

On Wednesday, Peyton joined Cris Collinsworth on Pro Football Talk, opening up about his nephew Arch, brother Cooper, a few what-ifs, and the kind of speed that clearly didn’t come from him or Eli. “His son, Arch, is a great kid,” Peyton said, addressing Arch’s dad, Cooper. “Like I said, he’s very athletic, like his dad, you know, I don’t know why the speed sort of skipped me and Eli. It went from my dad to Cooper on to Cooper’s son, Arch, but he’s a great kid. He’s worked very hard. He’s been very patient.”

There’s no debating it—Peyton and Eli clocked 4.8 and 4.9 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, respectively. But if you ask any longtime fan of the Manning family, they’ll tell you Cooper was the fastest of Archie’s three sons. Cooper, the oldest son of Archie Manning, was a standout all-state wide receiver in high school (Isidore Newman, New Orleans).

A highly recruited prospect, Cooper committed to Ole Miss, but a spinal stenosis interrupted his football career. And just like that, his career was ended before it even started. Fast forward to now, and it’s safe to say that Arch Manning’s athletic prowess comes from no one but his dad, Cooper Manning. Yet, if you ask Cooper about his son’s speed, he’ll jokingly tell you that Arch “Definitely got his speed from mom,” as he jokingly shared on his Instagram after Arch scored a 67-yard touchdown.

However, there are still a few things for which Arch will always call his uncle Peyton. Like two-minute drills.

Arch Manning sometimes regrets calling Uncle Peyton

Back in 2013, when the Giants were sitting at 0-4 before facing the Eagles, Eli Manning reached out to Peyton Manning for some pointers. After all, Peyton had a great game against the Birds just a week before. But Peyton snapped, “What makes you think you can replicate anything close to what I did? You’re 0-4.” But Eli still wanted advice, so Peyton caved—on one condition: “If I tell you, will you please stop calling me all the time?” The tips finally came.

“Do a hard count every snap and draw Fletcher Cox offsides. If that doesn’t work, send your receivers on lots of double moves…” The writing was on the wall: Peyton Manning used to wait for Eli’s call before offering advice. And he kept the same approach with his nephew, Arch Manning. But eventually, it turned into instant regret for the Longhorns’ quarterback. “I really tried to take that same approach with Arch. He’s my nephew,” Manning told Cris Collinsworth.

“And he does call and reach out. And I think sometimes he probably regrets it. Uh last spring they had a two-minute drill that I think ended in a in a in a four for four and out situation. And then he kind of called me about thoughts on the two-minute drill. And I left him three 9-minute voice memos, you know, cuz the first one I forgot, you know, to talk about kind of, you know, you got to avoid a sack and you got to get an explosive play, and so I called it with a second voice memo.” 

For Arch, there’s no doubt that there may not be a better person to get advice from than Uncle Peyton when it comes to quarterback play. However, when he reached out for advice, Uncle Peyton responded with nearly a 30-minute memo. The silver lining? Well, after taking pointers, one thing was clear: Peyton Manning was now Arch Manning’s favorite uncle. “So, you know, 27 minutes later, I think he’s like, ‘You know what, I love my uncle Payton,'” he added.

That said, Arch is now gearing up to start his first season as a full-time starter for the Longhorns. While Arch is expected to spend a couple more years at Texas before making the NFL leap, one thing’s certain—Uncle Peyton will be right there, ready with pointers the moment he gets the call.