Sports
Is Arch Manning ready to take over at Texas, then the NFL? Just ask his former teammates
INDIANAPOLIS — Arch Manning is at least a year away from fielding questions at the NFL Scouting Combine. Still, his former Texas teammates fully expect the sophomore quarterback to eventually join them at the highest level.
“I think he can,” wide receiver Matthew Golden said Friday. “He has the heart to do it. Arch comes in each and every day, and he goes to work. He acts like a walk-on. He has a story. He’s trying to make a name for himself.”
Manning started two games for the Longhorns last year as a redshirt freshman while filling in for injured starter Quinn Ewers. Manning, who stands 6 feet 4 and weighs 225 pounds, finished the season with 939 passing yards, nine touchdowns, two interceptions and a 67.8 completion percentage.
The nephew of Peyton Manning and Eli Manning and the grandson of Archie Manning — all first-round NFL quarterbacks — the youngest Manning rushed for 108 yards and four touchdowns on 25 carries. His 67-yard touchdown sprint against UTSA was the longest by a Texas quarterback since Vince Young’s 80-yard run in 2005.
“He’s an amazing thrower, but what shocked me the most is that he can run,” receiver Isaiah Bond said. “I wasn’t expecting that at all, but Arch has some wheels on him. I’ve just never seen a quarterback run like that before, especially because he’s a big guy, too. So, to be moving at that speed, he is pretty amazing.”
In the past 25 years, Manning is the only FBS or NFL QB to post a touchdown pass exceeding 75 yards, a touchdown run for more than 65 yards and another 50-yard scoring pass in the same game. Manning did that against UTSA, a game he didn’t even start. Manning spelled Ewers in that game and completed 9 of 12 passes for four touchdowns and 223 yards while rushing for his 67-yarder in a 56-7 win.
Arch Manning, right, started two games in 2024 when Quinn Ewers was out with an injury. (David Buono / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
As the nation’s No. 1 recruit in 2023, Manning immediately applied pressure to Ewers, who was No. 1 in 2021. Then with those performances, Manning’s presence intensified the tension on Ewers, which forced him to continually improve to remain a starter.
“It says in the Bible, iron sharpens iron,” Ewers said. “So, it was good for me and him to kind of get to work together. And we both are competing for the same job, but us being pals off the field was good for us as well.
“I wouldn’t trade any of that, because it’s the reality of the position. There’s always going to be a big name in the room or around the room. So, I’m glad that he was a part of our team, and I’m glad that I had to hear about it as well.”
After his two starts against Louisiana-Monroe and Mississippi State, Manning played sparingly the rest of the season, completing 6 of 12 passes for 38 yards and rushing 12 times for 26 yards and a touchdown. The Longhorns reached the College Football Playoff semifinals in their first SEC campaign.
With Ewers eyeing an NFL career, it’s Manning’s time to stand out at Texas. And his former teammates believe he is ready for the spotlight.
“He’s gonna be a great player,” Ewers said. “He’s a hard-working kid. I think that he has some traits that I had as well. He’s definitely got poise and composure, and I think that he’s ready for any moment that arises because he sat behind me, he saw how I did it. And then obviously he’s going to have his ways that he’s going to want to do it.”
“He can spin the ball real well,” Golden said. “He can run the ball, too. I feel like there’s nothing Arch can’t do. So, I’m excited to see what he’s going to do next year. For his caliber, how young he is, he understands the game at a high level.
“You can tell when he’s in the game. So, just waiting for him to get the opportunity to start. It’s gonna be good.”
(Top photo: Matthew Visinsky / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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Oregon defeated James Madison 51-34 in the first round of the College Football Playoff on Saturday.
The score looked like it would be more lopsided during the first three quarters, as Oregon held a 48-13 lead over JMU halfway through the third quarter.
JMU managed to lessen the deficit toward the end by outscoring the Ducks 20-3 in the final quarter and a half.
Oregon Ducks quarterback Dante Moore passes for a 20-yard touchdown during the College Football Playoff game against James Madison Dukes on Dec. 20, 2025, at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon. (Brian Murphy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The Ducks (12-1) advanced to face Texas Tech in a quarterfinal game at the Orange Bowl on Jan. 1. Oregon won a playoff game for the first time since 2014, when the Ducks beat Florida State in the Rose Bowl semifinal before losing to Ohio State.
James Madison (12-2) dropped Group of Five teams to 0-4 in CFP games following No. 17 Tulane’s 41-10 loss at No. 6 Mississippi on Saturday.
Oregon quarterback Dante Moore completed a 41-yard touchdown pass to Jamari Johnson less than two minutes into the game to give Oregon a lead it would not relinquish. Johnson hauled in Moore’s pass with his right hand, and romped into the end zone while dragging a pair of defenders.
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Oregon Ducks running back Jordon Davison runs the ball against the James Madison Dukes during the College Football Playoff on Dec. 20, 2025, at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon. (Brian Murphy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
James Madison responded with a 30-yard field goal from Morgan Suarez on its next drive, one which required 15 plays and burned 8:03 off the clock. The Ducks took over from there, rattling off four straight touchdowns before the Dukes snuck in another field goal from Suarez ahead of halftime, which brought the score to 34-6.
In falling behind by such a wide margin, James Madison went away from its rushing attack, which ranked fifth in the nation in average yards per game entering the evening. Sun Belt Player of the Year, Alonza Barnett III, completed 23 of 48 passes, including a 47-yard touchdown pass to Nick DeGennaro on James Madison’s first drive of the third quarter.
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Oregon Ducks running back Dierre Hill Jr. scores a touchdown on a 56-yard run against the James Madison Dukes on Dec. 20, 2025, at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon. (Brian Murphy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Oregon promptly responded with two touchdowns, including wide receiver Malik Benson’s second TD and a blocked punt that Jayden Limar scooped and returned 15 yards for a score. James Madison scored the last three touchdowns.
The victory was the Ducks’ seventh straight since losing to No. 1 Indiana 30-20 on Oct. 11. James Madison had won 11 in a row.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Clipper Kris Dunn grabs Laker Maxi Kleber ‘s jersey in front of a ref Saturday at the Intuit Dome.
(Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)
The Lakers have been assessed five technical fouls in the last two games because of conduct with officials as frustration over inconsistent calls is starting to boil over. After Doncic, Jaxson Hayes and Marcus Smart were all given technical fouls in the third quarter of Thursday’s win over Utah, Doncic and Smart were T’ed up again Saturday in the first and third quarters, respectively.
“I think if any coach, any player, what we ask for is consistency,” Redick said. “And that’s not to single any official out or any crew out, it’s not about that. We need to know what it is night to night.”
Smart also drew a technical foul against Utah after attempting to talk to an official at halftime. When Smart walked away frustrated, he raised his middle finger toward the official, a gesture that got him fined $35,000 Saturday, the NBA announced.
“Sometimes you got to take the hit to get your point across,” Smart said Saturday.
Redick expressed additional frustration with the lack of transparency in the replay system and murky communication with officials. He said he has not received any feedback when he requests it and the distinction between plays that can and can’t be challenged appears to change every night.
The lack of communication has been frustrating for players as well, Smart said, who met with referees before the Utah game as a team captain, but still had his questions dismissed.
“The captain should be able to come talk to them,” Smart said. “They still don’t want to hear it. So control what you can control. They don’t want to talk, you know, you try and you move on. But it definitely is frustrating when you pour your heart out to this game and the feedback is literally waving you off, telling you to get out your face, and then giving you a tech because you’re asking a simple question.”
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An intense brawl broke out during the Eagles-Commanders game in the fourth quarter Saturday night, resulting in three ejections.
The fight began after Philadelphia’s Saquon Barkley scored on a 2-point conversion to boost his team’s lead to 19 points with less than five minutes left.
Washington’s Javon Kinlaw and Quan Martin and Eagles offensive lineman Tyler Steen were disqualified after being flagged for unnecessary roughness.
There was some pushing and shoving and a lot of jawing, and officials threw six flags as the chaos ensued.
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Tyler Steen (56) of the Philadelphia Eagles and Mike Sainristil (0) of the Washington Commanders fight in the fourth quarter at Northwest Stadium Dec. 20, 2025, in Landover, Md. (Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
Eventually, order was restored, and Barkley, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and Commanders linebacker Bobby Wagner spoke to each other.
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The Eagles won the game, 29-18, to clinch their second straight division title, becoming the first team to win back-to-back NFC East titles since the 2004 Eagles did it.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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