Steve Sarkisian: ‘I would not be surprised’ if Arch Manning returns in 2027
· Yahoo Sports
With summer conditioning underway on the Forty Acres, SEC Media Days looming next month, and preseason camp set to start in August, the slow grind of the offseason is finally trending towards a college football season with big expectations for the Texas Longhorns.
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But it is still the offseason, and a Monday interview between Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian and Kay Adams on the Up & Adams Show turned towards the future of redshirt junior quarterback Arch Manning, who will be draft eligible after the 2026 season with one year of eligibility remaining.
Widely projected as one of the top picks in the 2027 NFL Draft — if not the top pick — Manning is expected to depart Austin to begin his professional career.
Attaching a big caveat to the discussing, Sarkisian drew attention to his response in a burgeoning offseason trend.
“We haven’t had the discussion, but I will tell you, I would not be surprised,” Sarkisian said of Manning’s potential return. “I think Arch really loves college football. I really do. I think he loves the University of Texas. He does pretty good through NIL, he’s got some pretty good endorsements going right now, which, which is a credit to him, and obviously the lineage of the last name and the brand of the University of Texas, all those things coming together.”
In the era of NIL and revenue sharing, those opportunities are a game changer for keeping players in college, especially for Manning, who is arguably the most marketable player in the sport.
“On the same token, I won’t be surprised if he declares and decides to go to the draft,” Sarkisian added.
“I think some of that is dependent upon how we play as a team this fall, how he plays individually, knock on wood, injury-free football, things like that.”
The other factor, given the Manning family history? The fit at the top of the draft with the franchises set to hold the top picks next year — Eli Manning famously forced a trade from the San Diego Chargers after he was taken with the top pick in the 2004 NFL Draft after Manning’s agent told the Chargers that the Ole Miss product wouldn’t play for them. The Chargers told him anyway, and ended up working out a trade with the New York Giants, where Manning spend all 16 years of his career and won two Super Bowls.
As the draft order takes shape while Manning contemplates his decision, he’ll have the benefit of another season of eligibility to determine whether he has any remaining goals in college and whether any of the franchises with the top selection look appealing.
But those actual considerations are months away, and Texas has a national title on its mind.
“That’s not our focus — our focus is on getting ready for the season, getting ready for Texas State in Week 1, and then Ohio State, then UTSA, then Tennessee, so on and so forth,” Sarkisian said. “So we haven’t really had any dialogue about it, but to your point, I wouldn’t be surprised. He loves college, and again, he’s got some pretty good NIL stuff going for himself right now.”