In the modern era of college football, Arch Manning is many things. He's going to enter the 2026 season as arguably the Heisman Trophy frontrunner, he'll be at the helm of the Texas Longhorns, a national championship favorite, and he obviously has the Manning name attached to him to add a celebrity-type element. However, he's also increasingly an outlier, as he'll enter his fourth season with the Longhorns, a rarity in the era of the transfer portal and NIL. But if you talk to his dad, Cooper Manning, about what's been lost with some modern young athletes, it's not hard to see why Arch is, in fact different.
Cooper Manning was kind enough to sit down with FanSided. And he offered plenty of insight into how the world of sports and business are aligned, and some lessons in both avenues that you can clearly see have been applied in his own life.
Cooper Manning sees one big change in young athletes today
There's no question that, in many cases, a player of Arch Manning's stature in the modern era of college football, would've transferred out of Texas for an opportunity to start after he was slated to back up Quinn Ewers for the second straight season in Austin in 2024. Instead, Manning decided to stay and continue developing under Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian.
And when you hear what his dad, Cooper, has to say about what the rapidly evolving landscape of college football and sports has changed about the process for young athletes the most, it makes the reasoning behind that decision much clearer.
"I think, sometimes, people are not as enamored with being developed. It's nothing worse than going into a business meeting or going to a sporting event when you're not ready. I've done it before, and it's not pretty. So, taking the time to really get ready to, so when your name is called, you're ready to deliver and be, reliable and be, you know, an asset – not a problem, not a liability. And so, sometimes people are in a hurry to kind of be that guy when taking your time and getting coached, and getting taught, and doing kind of the behind the scenes dirty work is gonna make you a better competitor when it's your turn. So, don't be in such a hurry to get to get on stage until you got your lines down, and you're singing right, because it could be — I've been there. I threw a lot of interceptions as a sophomore, when I was ready, and I've been in some business meetings where I didn't quite know what I was talking about, and it was pretty humbling. So, you know, lesson learned."
We've seen the development of Arch Manning after his decision to stay at Texas as well. After some early struggles in the 2025 season with the Longhorns, Arch found his footing late in the season and was legitimately playing like one of the best quarterbacks in the sport by the time he led his team to a Citrus Bowl victory over Michigan.
Obviously, part of that success that Arch found was due to his talent, and the team around him. However, one of the most impressive parts was that the young signal-caller was also able to overcome a mountain of criticism being thrown his way while he was struggling, and persevere through that to be better for it. Once again, Cooper's mentality when it comes to both sports and the business world shed some light as to why his son might've been ready to make it through to the other side of that, when asked what tools allow great leaders in both business and athletics to compete at the highest level.
"I think being focused and not getting sidetracked by a bunch of the noise outside, listening to suggestions. 'Oh, he needs to be doing this', or 'We need to be doing that.' I think listening to your mentors, whether it be, guys that, you know, you worked for a long time ago, leaning on them for business, listening to your coaches, knowing what it takes to be better and trying just to keep your focus right here, I think is crucial."
You can watch the full interview with Cooper Manning and FanSided below:
Cooper Manning spoke with FanSided with Capital One and the Venture X Business Card. Manning says that athletes and entrepreneurs alike have a lot on their plate, but loves that the Capital One Venture X Business Card is "just there for you" and allows anyone the freedom where, "you don't have to think about the small things and just worry about the big things and, and try to enjoy the whole process."