Arch Manning reacts to Bronny James comparison and learns what a ‘nepo baby’ is

2025 figures to be the Year of Arch Manning in college football, both because of that famous last name and because of the fact that he's a former five-star recruit set to take over as starting quarterback at one of the biggest programs in the country — a program that just happens to be among the favorites to win the national title next season. The hype train, and the inevitable backlash, have kicked into overdrive already, and things only figure to get louder from here.

But for all the attention Manning has gotten since his high school days, we still don't actually know all that much about him. His family understandably went to great lengths to protect him from the media during his high-profile recruitment, and Texas makes sure to shield all of its freshmen from talking much during their first year on campus. Now that Quinn Ewers is off to the NFL and the QB1 job officially belongs to Arch, though, the veil has been lifted a bit — with often-hilarious results.

Arch Manning had no idea what a 'nepo baby' was and more revelations

As part of his new NIL partnership with Red Bull, Manning sat down and reacted to some of the many, many posts about him on social media over the last year or two. Some of his answers were eye-opening, so let's run through the highlights.

He didn't think all that highly of his high school competition

Manning went to Isidore Newman, a private prep school in Louisiana. As such, he didn't exactly face the best players the state had to offer over his high-school career — a fact that he pretty openly acknowledged when one social media user tried to liken him to Derrick Henry. "I wish I was Derrick Henry," Manning said. "I also played against terrible competition in high school — not terrible, but smaller competition in high school, so it's not really saying much.

We're guessing life in the SEC will be just a bit tougher.

He had no idea what a 'nepo baby' was

In response to a post calling him a nepo baby, Manning could only offer a blank stare — apparently that's a bit of slang that's escaped him over the past couple of years. Once informed about what the term actually meant, though, he took it in stride, acknowledging that "I do have a lot of football in my family." While his last name was certainly responsible for some of the attention that's followed him from New Orleans to Austin, he's proven more than enough on the field to stand on his own at this point.

He apparently DM'd Bronny James once

Manning has of course drawn comparisons to another athlete with very famous family, current Los Angeles Laker Bronny James. Arch is taking those comparisons in stride: "I don't know Bronny James, I DM'd him once," Manning said. "Seems like a great guy, so maybe that's a compliment." Arch declined to reveal what exactly that DM said, but based on how Bronny has improved his game since being drafted last summer, maybe he could teach Manning a thing or two.