The first thing you notice about Arch Manning is his frame.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s bigger, slightly thicker in the upper body.<\/p>\n
After an offseason of pushing weights around the gym, Manning has added a few extra pounds of muscle to his 6-foot-4 frame. The beefed-up physique was partly a byproduct of the downtime he endured after undergoing foot surgery in January.<\/p>\n
But there was also an element of intent. Manning wanted to get bigger and stronger to meet the physical demands of starting in the Southeastern Conference. A year ago, he battled through multiple injuries during an up-and-down sophomore campaign.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got up to, like, 235 (pounds),\u201d Manning said while visiting with reporters at the Manning Passing Academy on Friday in Thibodaux. \u201cI wanted to see what it felt like, but I was a little too big. So I lost it. Feeling good now.\u201d<\/p>\n
He\u2019s looking good, too. The former Newman standout will enter his second season as the Texas starter as a bigger, stronger and mentally tougher version of the guy who led the Longhorns to a 10-3 finish and No. 12 national ranking last season.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, obviously there was some up and downs, a little bit of a rocky start there, but I feel like I learned a lot, learned a lot about myself and trying to keep getting better, move forward,\u201d he said. \u201c(It was) a good year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Manning and the Longhorns will once again enter the season with great expectations. Texas is expected to be a preseason top-five team when the initial AP Top 25 poll is released in August.<\/p>\n
Those closest to Manning believe he\u2019ll be ready for whatever comes his way. A season of growth and hard lessons has steeled him for the challenge ahead.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere’s nothing better than experience,\u201d said Arch\u2019s father, Cooper Manning. \u201cYou got to go through the bumps and bruises and dealing with all the things \u2014 the media, the teammates, the coaches, looking in the mirror and saying, \u2018What do I do to get better? I keep improving.’ So he’s excited about this opportunity.<\/p>\n
“I thought he handled everything like a tough guy. I think a lot of people at Texas learned a lot about who their leader is. That’s why a lot of people want to be on his team. He’s the leader of the Texas Longhorns.\u201d<\/p>\n
Manning has a chance to do something his famous uncles, Peyton and Eli, and grandfather, Archie, never did \u2014 win a national title and a Heisman Trophy.<\/p>\n
Vegas oddsmakers have installed Manning, along with Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr, as one of the early Heisman favorites. Of course, at this time a year ago, he was also one of the favorites, while Fernando Mendoza was the longest of long shots. So we know how much that matters.<\/p>\n
When I mentioned the Heisman to him Friday, his response was as predictable as the Thibodaux summer heat.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just worried about the team,\u201d he said, switching deftly to default mode. \u201cI\u2019m just worried about getting through this afternoon workout here in the heat.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, the storyline is out there. And he knows it\u2019s not going away. Such is the blessing and curse of the Manning name. The spotlight never turns off.<\/p>\n
To that end, Manning was mic\u2019d up during workouts at the camp Friday. ESPN was in town to record a feature story on him and his famous family that will air during Week 2 of the season when Ohio State visits Texas in Austin.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s just one of many marquee games on the Longhorns\u2019 schedule, a gauntlet that includes home games against Ohio State, Florida and Ole Miss, and road trips to Tennessee, Oklahoma, Texas A&M and LSU.<\/p>\n
The Nov. 14 game at LSU will mark the first time Manning has played in an official game of any kind in Tiger Stadium. It figures to be one of the most anticipated games of the college season, epic theater as the native son returns to his home state to compete for the first time in his career as a starter.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s going to be fun,\u201d he said. \u201cI’m excited for the challenge. They’re a great team, great coach and a great crowd. So we’re fired up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cooper said he is also eagerly anticipating the Week 11 showdown.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose are big (games),\u201d he said. \u201cThat’s why you joined the SEC. That’s why you go to Texas and play on the big stage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked what kind of reaction he expects LSU fans to give Texas and Arch, Cooper smiled and planted his tongue firmly in his cheek<\/p>\n
“Oh, I think the LSU fans will be really kind and nice,\u201d he quipped. \u201cThey’ve always been so hospitable to other teams. I think they’ll be just lovely.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The first thing you notice about Arch Manning is his frame. He\u2019s bigger, slightly thicker in the upper…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":353426,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[125836,27,29,28],"class_list":["post-353425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-manning_passing_academy","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353425","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=353425"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353425\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/353426"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=353425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=353425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=353425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}