The third generation of Manning quarterbacks got its first start on Saturday, not only in Austin, where Arch was under center for Texas, but in New Jersey as well.
‘Arch is not the only Manning to get his first start today,’ proud father, Eli, wrote on social media alongside a clip of his six-year-old son Charlie playing flag football.
The former New York Giants signal caller still lives in New Jersey, where Saturday’s clip was likely filmed. The footage shows Charlie throwing the ball to a wide-open teammate after some encouragement from off camera.
‘He’s open,’ a man’s voice is heard saying. ‘Throw it to him, Charlie.’
The son of Eli’s older brother, Cooper, Arch was filling in for injured Longhorns starter Quinn Ewers against unranked University of Louisiana Monroe on Saturday. And after dazzling off the bench for top-ranked Texas last week, Arch had an up-and-down game against the Warhawks.
Arch Manning of the Texas Longhorns greets fans on the way to the stadium on Saturday
Charlie Manning (No. 61) completed a pass in his first start, as seen in Eli’s footage
Arch Manning reacts after a rushing touchdown in the first quarter against UL Monroe
Manning did toss the first two interceptions of his college career, but offset those mistakes with a pair of touchdown passes and brilliant 56-yard strike to Longhorns star receiver Isaiah Bond.
The 6-foot-4 Arch is the nephew of Super Bowl winners, Eli and Peyton, and the grandson of former New Orleans Saints signal caller, Archie. Arch’s father, Cooper, is the eldest of Archie’s sons and once looked liked a future NFL player himself, before being diagnosed with spinal stenosis at Ole Miss, Archie and later Eli’s alma mater.
But young Arch spurned the Rebels – as well as Georgia, Alabama, LSU, Clemson and Virginia for that matter – in favor of the Longhorns, where he’s considered the top recruit of coach Steve Sarkisian’s tenure in Austin.
Arch is the son of (from left to right) Cooper, nephew of Eli and Peyton, and grandson of Archie
A fans holds a sign for Texas quarterback Arch Manning (16) during the first half on Saturday
The 19-year-old did follow in his father and uncles’ footsteps by attending the Isidore Newman School in New Orleans, where the third-generation football star impressed just about everyone by starting for four years at the local powerhouse.
‘He’s probably a little ahead of them as a freshman,’ Archie Manning told the Indy Star in 2019, when asked to compare young Arch with his uncles.
Despite his status as a top recruit, it wasn’t until last week that Arch saw extended time on the field. With Ewers nursing a strained oblique, Manning threw for 223 yards and racked up five touchdowns in a 56-7 win over University of Texas San Antonio.
He also pulled off a 67-yard touchdown run, flashing some of Archie’s trademark athleticism that famously skipped Eli and Peyton’s generation.