TAMPA, Fla. — The Creole bread pudding soufflé at Commanders Palace. Char-broiled oysters at Drago’s. A beignet at Café Du Monde.

Arch Manning’s hometown of New Orleans boasts some of the most iconic dishes in the country. So, when the Texas football quarterback hosted his receivers for some informal passing sessions at Tulane University in the leafy Uptown neighborhood earlier this summer, where did he take them to eat?

“We went to Bayou Hot Wings, and they loved it,” Manning said at Thursday’s SEC media days. “And we had barbecue at the house one night. We didn’t go to, like, a fancy restaurant.”

Manning and his revamped receiving corps plan to do plenty of cooking come football season, too. Texas opened its very thick wallet to sign Cam Coleman, the former Auburn star who became arguably the most coveted collegiate free agent when he entered the transfer portal in December. Ryan Wingo returns for a third season and his second as a starter. Emmett Mosley V also returns at wideout, and Sterling Berkhalter joined the Longhorns after playing last season at Wake Forest.

Along with new running back Hollywood Smothers, all of those receivers joined Manning at Tulane to run routes and work on their timing.

“We had the whole squad,” Manning said. “We had a good time.”

Manning said he needed that time with his receivers after missing most of spring football following minor offseason foot surgery.

“I just needed more work with them,” Manning said.

That extra summer work may help Manning and the Texas offense avoid the slow start they had last season. Over the first seven games of 2025, Texas averaged just 26.7 points a game against a slate of opponents that included three non-power conference teams. Manning averaged 207 yards passing a game in that stretch with 12 touchdown passes and five interceptions, and Texas went 5-2.

Over the final six games, Texas put up 34.8 points a game, Manning averaged 285 yards passing, and he totaled 19 touchdowns with two picks while leading the Longhorns to five wins.

Spending some warm summer days working with his receiver in his hometown can help Manning and the offense pick up where it left off after beating Michigan 41-27 in the Cheez-It Bowl, Manning said.

“He came out and played the second half of the season at a really high level,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “He’s a fantastic player at the end of the year. All he’s done this year is continue to work hard again.”