Arch Manning, nephew of Peyton and Eli, stars with 5 touchdowns in Texas Longhorns win
(CNN) — The Manning dynasty looks to be in safe hands with its newest quarterback Arch Manning. The 19-year-old put up a breakout performance worthy of the name in the Texas Longhorns’ 56-7 win over the UTSA Roadrunners on Saturday.
Manning’s uncles – Peyton and Eli – have won four Super Bowls and three Super Bowl MVP awards between them, were both selected as the No. 1 pick in the draft and became NFL legends during their careers.
The college quarterback also shares a name with his grandad and former NFL quarterback Archie Manning.
But the teenager seems to be thriving under the added weight of expectation and pressure, and accounted for five of the Longhorns’ touchdowns in the huge win – the most for a freshman at the school since 2006.
Manning was thrown into the game during the second quarter when Longhorns starting quarterback Quinn Ewers left the field through injury.
The redshirt freshman then threw for 223 yards and completed nine of 12 passes on his way to throwing four touchdowns.
But it was on the floor that Manning wowed the 101,892 fans in attendance as he rushed for 67 yards to the end zone, leaving the trailing defenders in his wake as he added to the Longhorns’ tally.
“You never know as a backup when you’re going to get put in the game,” Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian told reporters postgame as he praised Manning’s performance.
While Sarkisian said the backups train hard, playing in a game is a completely different experience.
“There’s nothing like being in the game and playing and playing in front of 105,000 people is not the easiest thing to do, so I was really proud of Arch and what he was able to do,” he added.
A highly-touted prospect, Manning’s talent – and name – has ensured that he has long been earmarked for football success. Before committing to Texas, he broke his high school’s records for career passing yards and touchdowns in 2022, which were previously held by his uncles, Eli and Peyton.
With Ewers potentially facing a spell on the sideline, Manning could be set for more games leading the Longhorns.