Texas quarterback Arch Manning has passed for 2,942 yards and 24 touchdowns this season. Todd Kirkland / Getty Images
Texas quarterback Arch Manning will return to the school to play next season, a person briefed on the decision confirmed to The Athletic on Tuesday.
Manning could have declared for the 2026 NFL Draft as a redshirt sophomore. This season, he has passed for 2,942 yards and 24 touchdowns, against seven interceptions, leading the Longhorns to a 9-3 record.
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian isn’t complaining about the decision, which ends speculation about what the much-hyped Longhorns signal caller was going to do next year.
“He’s a young man who’s gotten better as the season’s gone on, and not only physically, but mentally, maturity-wise,” Sarkisian told ESPN. “I would think he’s going to want another year of that growth to put himself in position for hopefully a long career in the NFL. And he’s got some unfinished business of what he came here to do and what he came here to accomplish.”
Manning and the Longhorns will play Michigan in the Citrus Bowl on Dec. 31 in Orlando, Fla. The Wolverines will be led by interim head coach Biff Poggi, who is guiding the team after the firing of former coach Sherrone Moore.