Arch Manning May Be Running Out of Time to Save His Texas Career

Texas quarterback Arch Manning could see his hype plummet in the next few weeks.

Coming into the season, Manning was the Heisman favorite. He was the favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2027 NFL Draft, too.

The calendar hasn’t even flipped to November yet, and both of those things seem almost out of reach. The Longhorns are 4-2, the No. 13 team in the nation. But Manning hasn’t been sharp since his massive comeback upset against Ohio State, and there’s some speculation about a potential benching.

According to college football insider Pete Thamel, Texas is going to give backup quarterback KJ Lacey Jr. an up-tick in first-team practice reps. Even though Manning will start at quarterback for the Longhorns in their huge clash against Ole Miss this weekend, if he struggles, it sounds like Texas coach Steve Sarkisian is close to pulling the plug.

If Texas missed the College Football Playoff, maybe Sarkisian would bolt to the NFL, splitting with the Longhorns after three years with Manning hasn’t worked.

Manning continuing to struggle in college is strengthening his case to return to Texas for another season next year. Would he be content entering the NFL Draft if he wasn’t a first round lock? Right now, he sounds like he’s closer to being benched than becoming the No. 1 overall pick.

The good news for Manning is that the NFL has a quarterback problem, and an organization would undoubtedly gamble on the athletic upside and pedigree that comes with the last name.

Manning isn’t the only college football quarterback struggling this season. Oregon’s Dante Moore was injured, and he’s probably watched his draft stock slide a bit, too.

The 2027 NFL Draft class might not be as loaded as initially thought. Oklahoma State quarterback Drew Mestemaker has been a fast-rising name, but other than that? It feels like the demand will outweigh the supply as multiple professional franchises will be searching for a quarterback after several clunky draft classes forced teams to wait.

There’s still time for Manning to turn this around.

This leak to Thamel sounds like a “last chance” warning of sorts to Manning.

He hasn’t been laughably bad, completing about 64% of passes for 1,295 yards, 11 touchdowns and five interceptions on the season. But those numbers don’t scream Heisman contender, top draft pick or really even a guy that could put his team in position to compete for a 12-team College Football Playoff this winter.

But Manning has a few ranked matchups left on this schedule. If he can upset Ole Miss this weekend, current No. 22 Missouri and No. 18 LSU await Texas on their schedule. Play well in those games and escape with a victory, and the narrative surrounding Manning heading into a potential postseason run would be about how he caught fire in the second half of a season again.