On Sept. 14, Archie Manning sat in the study of his St. Charles Avenue condo and flipped on the TV to watch the University of Texas play Texas-San Antonio.
The study, lined with built-in bookshelves displaying family photos and keepsakes from Manning’s legendary playing career, is his happy place, his favorite spot to watch football games in his septuagenarian years.
Decked in a burnt-orange Texas hoodie, Manning and his wife, Olivia, hoped their grandson, Arch, would receive some playing time for the No. 2-ranked Longhorns in what figured to be a blowout. As a backup quarterback, Manning had played only sparingly in his first two seasons at Texas. Sure enough, early in the second quarter, he trotted onto the field after the starter, Quinn Ewers, was injured.
On Manning’s first play, he fired a 19-yard touchdown pass to DeAndre Moore. One drive later, he faked a handoff to running back Tre Wisner and raced 67 yards down the right side of the field for a touchdown, leaving a parade of stunned UTSA defenders in his wake. The scintillating run brought the sellout crowd at Texas Memorial Stadium to its feet and left Archie and Olivia speechless.
“We looked at each other and didn’t say anything,” Archie said. “I just laughed.”
It was a déjà vu moment for Archie, the former New Orleans Saints star. Fifty-six years earlier, he made an eerily similar 44-yard run in his collegiate debut for Ole Miss. In that 21-7 win at Memphis State, Archie passed for two touchdowns and ran for another, displaying the dual-threat ability that eventually would make him a folk hero in Oxford, Mississippi. The run would prove to be the longest of his career, college or the pros.
“I immediately thought of that play,” Archie said, recalling his scamper around left end. “And I hadn’t thought about that play in years. It was unbelievable.”
The pride was evident in Manning’s voice. The oldest of his four grandsons — the latest quarterback from the royal line of America’s first family of football — wasn’t just his namesake. He was also his play-alike.
Ole Miss quarterback Archie Manning runs for a second touchdown against Arkansas in the 1970 Sugar Bowl at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans.
STAFF FILE PHOTO
Family and football
When Cooper and Ellen Manning welcomed their first son into the world at Baptist East Hospital on April 27, 2004, they had no way of knowing he would become a football star.
Prescience had nothing to do with their decision to name him Archibald Charles Manning. Family names were a tradition for the Mannings and Heidingsfelders, and it was simply their way of honoring Ellen’s late brother (Charles Jr.) and the couple’s fathers: Archibald Manning and Charles Heidingsfelder.
Since Archie was taken, Ace seemed too flashy and, as Cooper said, “No one wants to be called Archibald,” the family called him Arch for short.
Paradoxically, Arch took after the Heidingsfelder side of the family, with his bushy brown locks, wide smile and large, deep-set eyes. In turn, his younger brother, Heid, looked more like a Manning, with his straight hair, narrow face and long nose.
“Obviously, we got it all wrong with the names,” Cooper said, tongue-in-cheek.
Arch Manning, right, and young brother, Heid Manning, at the Manning Passing Academy in Thibodaux, La.
Courtesy photo
Arch was a quiet kid, even shy to a degree. He wore glasses as a toddler and preferred to be a bystander rather than the center of attention. May was the bossy older sister. Younger brother Heid took after Cooper, brandishing an extroverted personality and wry sense of humor.
“Arch,” Ellen said, “was a great audience for Heid.”
Arch came out of his shell when sports were involved. As fate would have it, he revealed himself to be a gifted athlete — hardly a surprise given his lineage. Ellen was a track sprinter and star volleyball player at Sacred Heart. Cooper was a standout receiver at Newman and Ole Miss before ending his career early because of a back condition called spinal stenosis.
From an early age, Arch would beg Cooper to play pitch and catch with him in the front yard of their Uptown home. Video of Arch dunking on a mini-goal as a bespectacled preschooler has been preserved for posterity in the Manning household.
Blessed with the speed and athleticism of his parents and grandfather, Arch starred in Carrollton Little League games at the Fly and flag football games at Avenger Field. Because of his speed, he played shortstop and center field and always batted leadoff on the diamond. He was the quarterback from Day One on the football field. Arch’s flag football teams would win by such lopsided margins, Cooper often subbed Heid in for him at the end of games.
Former Saints quarterback Archie Manning watches his grandson, Arch Manning of Isidore Newman, play against St. Charles Catholic during the first half of an 11-2A district high school football game at Strawberry Stadium in Hammond, Thursday, Oct. 14, 2021.
STAFF PHOTO BY SCOTT THRELKELD
Archie and Olivia were at every game, just as they were for May and Heid. And once Arch started playing varsity football at Newman, Archie made every practice.
Archie learned the importance of family support from his parents, Archibald “Buddy” Manning and Jane “Sis” Manning, while growing up in Drew, Mississippi, a farming community of 2,000 in the Mississippi Delta.
From age 6 on, the red-haired, freckle-faced Archie was immersed in sports, changing with the seasons — basketball in winter, track in the spring, baseball in the summer and football in the fall. He excelled in all of them. Sports served as a bonding agent for the family, a vehicle to create shared history.
“When I was playing peewee baseball, my mother would bring a chair from the house and sit all day watching me play,” Archie said. “Sometimes we’d have games morning, afternoon and night. If we were winning, the mothers wouldn’t want to change dresses. It was hot, of course, so they’d go home to throw them in the washer between games.”
Ellen and Cooper showed similar dedication to their children, often splitting chaperone duties for travel team events across the Southeast. In addition to the big three sports, Arch also played tennis and swam at the New Orleans Lawn Tennis Club. Archie and Olivia substituted as drivers whenever their services were needed.
In the summer before Arch’s sixth-grade year at Newman, Archie had his first serious quarterback-to-quarterback talk with him. It would be Arch’s first season of tackle football, and, during a drive to a Little League game in St. Francisville, he asked Archie whether he could impart any wisdom from all those years under center at Ole Miss and with the Saints.
Archie seized the moment. He launched into a soliloquy on the importance of leadership at the position, starting with his huddle presence during practice and games. Lower your voice. Speak with authority. Don’t let anyone else talk. Look everyone in the eye. Sell the play call. Be in charge. Command the huddle.
“Red,” Arch replied, using his nickname for his grandfather, “we don’t ever huddle.”
A chagrined Archie thought to himself, “Well, I’m old.”
Archie Manning (from left), Arch Manning and Cooper Manning.
Courtesy photo
A different game
The brand of football Arch plays today is exceedingly different than the one Archie played at Ole Miss in the late 1960s.
During Archie’s first year as the starter at Ole Miss, the Rebels passed only 40% of the time, and Archie threw eight touchdown passes in 10 games. By comparison, Texas last year was a true 50-50 run-pass split, and Arch threw nine TD passes in only 90 attempts as Ewers’ backup. The average offensive lineman on Archie’s Ole Miss teams was 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds. Arch’s starting left tackle at Texas, Trevor Goolsby, stands 6-7, weighs 312 pounds and can reverse dunk a basketball.
Archie realized quickly the most valuable role he could play for Arch would be as a supportive grandfather rather than a quarterback whisperer. Unless Arch initiated it, he would leave the football advice to his coaches at Texas, head coach Steve Sarkisian and A.J. Milwee, the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
“Receivers were in three-point stances when he played, so the game’s changed so much,” Arch said of Archie. “But he’ll still remind me of simple things: being a leader, being a good teammate, run from drill to drill, take care of your linemen. Mostly, he just reminds me to be a good guy.”
While the game has changed, the respective games of the two Mannings are actually quite similar.
The speed and all-around athleticism Cooper inherited from Archie has been passed on to Arch. He reportedly clocked a time of 4.6 seconds in the 40-yard dash during his high school days and was recorded going 20.7 mph on the 67-yard run against UTSA, according to Reel Analytics and Next Gen Stats. That’s significantly faster than his Super Bowl-winning uncles, Peyton and Eli, who ran times of 4.8 and 4.9, respectively, at their NFL scouting combines.
“Arch got his grandpa’s athleticism,” Sarkisian said. “He can move.”
As a junior at Drew, Archie ran the mile relay and sprints, where he clocked a time of 11.5 seconds in the 100-yard dash. In baseball, he hit .425 and attracted the interest of the Atlanta Braves as a shortstop prospect. In basketball, he averaged more than 20 points a game.
At Ole Miss, Archie put on 20 pounds of muscle but didn’t lose his speed. As a junior, when he finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting, he passed for 1,762 yards and rushed for 502 yards and a team-high 14 touchdowns. His dual-threat ability was so rare at the time, Ole Miss head coach Johnny Vaught predicted he would “revolutionize the professional game.”
“Archie Manning played the game with an unmistakable flair,” wrote former Jackson (Miss.) Clarion-Ledger columnist Rick Cleveland in “The Mississippi Football Book.” “He was a strong-armed passer who could run when the situation called for it. And, both on and off the field, he always — always — conducted himself with equal parts class and dignity.”
Pull Quote
“Arch got his grandpa’s athleticism. He can move.” – Texas coach Steve Sarkisian
Archie wants nothing more than for folks to say the same about his three sons and nine grandchildren.
Without fail, he sends a text to Arch and the other Manning grandchildren and children every morning. The “Marvelous Mannings” thread serves as the family grapevine, and Archie kicks it off daily with a positive thought or aphorism.
“A kind word sure brightens someone’s day!!!!”
“Today is a good day to have a Really Great Day!!!”
“BE NICE to people for no reason!!!!!!!”
“His advice to me and, really all of us (grandchildren), is just be a good person,” Arch said.
Archie said his oldest grandson doesn’t need much guidance.
“He’s a sweet kid,” Archie said. “As an old coach used to say, he doesn’t have crap in his neck.
“I love my relationship with Arch because it’s not coaching. It’s not an old pro quarterback and a college quarterback. It’s just grandfather and grandson. That’s where it’s always been.”
Newman School quarterback Arch Manning talks with his grandfather, former New Orleans Saint’s quarterback Archie Manning, following a signing ceremony at Newman School in New Orleans on Tuesday, January 3, 2023. Arch will be playing football at the University of Texas.
STAFF PHOTO BY CHRIS GRANGER
Dodging the spotlight
When Archie was 14, he penned an essay for his ninth-grade class about life in Drew. He closed the piece with a pronouncement: “I have been blessed with a healthy body and mind. I stand five feet six inches tall and weigh one hundred-twenty pounds. … I don’t know what I intend to be but plan to enter some college. I hope to be someone my friends, teachers and parents won’t be ashamed of.”
His parents made sure he lived up to those words. His father instilled the Manning Way at an early age. He had four rules: Archie couldn’t talk back, he couldn’t bad-mouth anyone, he couldn’t brag about himself, and he couldn’t quit anything that he started. He fulfilled his commitments, looked people in the eyes when spoken to and always replied “yes, sir” or “no, ma’am” to his elders. For 13 consecutive years, he never missed a Sunday school class at First Baptist Church.
Pull Quote
“He’s the humblest kid I know.” – Texas cornerback Jahdae Brown
Archie shunned the spotlight during his playing days at Drew High School and Ole Miss. When he led Drew to a thrilling 18-14 upset of archrival Cleveland in his final high school game, he nixed his sister Pam’s plan to hold a reception line at the postgame house party. During the height of Archie Mania at Ole Miss, he asked Olivia to refrain from wearing “Archie for Heisman” buttons to games. When Oxford restaurants played “The Ballad of Archie” on their sound systems after he and Olivia walked in to dine, he would cringe inwardly with embarrassment. To escape the hoopla in Oxford and Memphis, he and teammates would sneak away to Natchez or other small towns in the region.
Olivia Williams was the homecoming queen at Ole Miss. Archie Manning was the star quarterback on the college football team. When the 21-year-olds got married on January 21, 1971, during their senior year in college, nearly 1,000 people showed up in Olivia’s home town of Philadelphia, Mississippi.
NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
Arch has lived a similar experience at Newman and Texas, where — by virtue of his famous last name — he has been a celebrity since junior high school when he was tabbed as the nation’s No. 1 overall football prospect in the Class of 2023.
At Newman, Arch earned the starting quarterback job as a freshman but still rode the freshman bus to games with his fellow ninth-grade classmates and declined invitations to the upperclassman dinners. He intentionally hid near the back of the pack during the team’s pregame entrance to the field. Likewise, at the family-run Manning Passing Academy in Thibodaux each summer, he sat in the stands with the other high school campers during the Friday Night Lights skills competition rather than exert his VIP status to get access to the field.
At Texas, star cornerback Jahdae Barron said Arch persisted in performing traditional freshman duties by carrying Barron’s laundry to the equipment room after practice.
“He wanted to show me that he wasn’t better than anybody else, that he was still a part of this team and was only a freshman,” Barron said at the NFL combine in February. “He’s the humblest kid I know.”
Out of respect to Ewers, Manning declined to participate in the passing skills competition at the Manning Passing Academy with the other college quarterbacks until he moved into a starting role at Texas this offseason.
“That’s his nature,” Cooper said. “It’s always been kind of important to him to not get special treatment or be treated differently. He just wants to be treated like a normal guy. That’s his comfort zone.”
Arch tries his best to avoid the spotlight, but it’s more difficult today with the ubiquity of cellphones and social media. His every move generates headlines and internet traffic. When he lost his student ID as a freshman, the news went viral. He is stopped regularly for autographs and selfies while walking to class or going out in Austin. Wherever he goes, he is hyper-cognizant of being video-recorded surreptitiously.
“It gets uncomfortable at times,” Ellen said. “There are a lot of benefits that come with being a Manning — and there are also detriments.”
Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning walks into the Cotton Bowl before an NCAA college football game against Oklahoma, Saturday, Oct. 13, 2024, in Dallas. Texas won 34-3.
Jeffrey McWhorter | AP
Managing the mania
Arch Madness only will intensify this year. Not only is he the starting quarterback but the Longhorns also are ranked No. 1 in preseason national polls. Vegas oddsmakers have installed him as the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy and become the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. It’s all part of what Arch calls “undeserved attention.”
“I’ve only (started) two games, so I have a lot to prove,” he said. “I’m ready to play, I’ve always dreamed of playing in the SEC, so it’s a dream come true. Got to go play well.”
Few doubt that he will play well. He was so impressive in his limited appearances last season that many Longhorns fans wanted him to remain the starter after Ewers returned to health in Week 7 last season. His career statistics are 63 completions in 95 pass attempts for 969 yards and nine touchdowns, along with two interceptions. His passer efficiency rating of 184 would have led the nation if he had played enough snaps to qualify last season. He also ran for 108 yards and four touchdowns.
“He’s a great guy. He’s a great teammate. He’s got an unbelievable work ethic,” Sarkisian said. “And I think, if he stays true to himself, that’s going to help him navigate these waters as they present themselves. We’ve got to do a great job of supporting him around him, as coaches, as players, and ultimately, I think he’s prepared for the moment. But now it’s just time for him to go do it and enjoy doing it, quite frankly.”
To that end, the Mannings and Texas officials have tried to prepare him for the craziness ahead. They have strategically limited his media interviews and public appearances this offseason. He knocked out his duties for the multiyear endorsement deal he signed with Red Bull earlier this spring and has conducted media interviews at only official settings such as the MPA and SEC media days. Undaunted, ESPN, The Athletic and Texas Monthly already have published or scheduled major profile stories on him. Undoubtedly, more are on the way as the Longhorns’ opening showdown against reigning national champion Ohio State approaches Aug. 30.
A fans holds a sign for Texas quarterback Arch Manning (16) during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Louisiana-Monroe in Austin, Texas, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024.
Eric Gay | AP
One thing Texas won’t have to worry about is a self-inflicted social media crisis. Arch spends little time on any platform, his aversion perhaps a byproduct of his upbringing. Ellen and Cooper made the kids turn in their cellphones at 9 p.m. and charged them each night. Since opening his accounts five years ago, he’s posted five times on X and 19 times on Instagram, despite having more than 550,000 combined followers.
“I don’t really care about all that stuff,” Arch said. “I’m not a big media guy.”
After two years on the sidelines, he is relishing the opportunity ahead of him. He spent the offseason honing his leadership skills and building a rapport with teammates. In May, he asked new Texas basketball coach Sean Miller for permission to sneak into the on-campus Moody Center so he and teammates could play pickup games. In June, he flew to St. Louis to attend a football camp in support of teammate Ryan Wingo. And in recent weeks, he’s led post-practice walk-through sessions on the Texas practice field with teammates.
“He loves being ‘the dude,’ because now you’re supposed to speak out, you’re supposed to fuss at someone when they’re not doing something right, to talk to someone on the side,” Cooper said. “That’s all the things that he loves. And now he’s been able to do it without anyone looking over his shoulder going, ‘Hey, it’s not your team.’ ”
When Arch needs football advice, Cooper, Peyton and Eli are just a text away. He joked about how he reached out to Peyton for advice on the two-minute offense earlier this summer and received a multipart, 30-minute voice text from his detail-obsessed uncle.
“He’s got a good head on his shoulders, so he doesn’t necessarily need my advice,” Peyton said at the MPA in June. “I’m very proud of him, how hard he’s worked. He’s put in a lot of time. He’s been patient. He’s enjoying college. My advice is, enjoy the journey. I’m looking forward to seeing him out there this year.”
Opportunity knocks
Archie purposefully has taken a step back as the big season approaches. An off-hand comment to a reporter about Arch’s draft status went viral for 24 hours earlier this month, and Archie was so dismayed by the kerfuffle it caused that he decided to shut down all future interviews and media appearances.
He knows firsthand the challenges that await Arch in the season ahead. The last thing he wants to do is exacerbate the challenge by causing a distraction.
“The SEC is going to be tougher than it’s ever been, so it’ll be a yo-yo, and the haters will come out,” Archie said. “I told him, just control what you can control. He’s pretty good about that. Peyton always put people in two categories: You get it or you don’t get it. Arch gets it. He’ll be fine.”
Texas quarterback Arch Manning looks to pass during the first half of an NCAA football game against Louisiana-Monroe, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024, in Austin, Texas.
Michael Thomas | AP
Archie’s final reminder to Arch this summer was a simple one: Don’t forget to have fun. He knows how quickly the college years go by and wants Arch to embrace every aspect of the journey — the highs, the lows and everything in between.
“He’s such a great guy and just the perfect role model for me, the way he carries himself and cares about others,” Arch said about his grandfather. “I was taught that good things happen to good people who work hard and put their head down, and that’s what I’m focused on right now.”
Archie hopes to attend a game or two this season, but traveling has become more difficult in recent years. His severe neuropathy requires him to walk with a cane, and crowds can be problematic even with Texas supplying golf carts and suite accommodations. Still, he hopes to catch an early nonconference game in Austin and perhaps the Longhorns’ game against Mississippi State in Starkville. He and Olivia will watch the Ohio State game from the comfort of his study.
“What I pray for is that Arch stays healthy,” Archie said. “Mainly, I just want him to really, really enjoy his college experience.”
No matter how it turns out, the messages in the Marvelous Mannings text chain will remain the same.