“Was a little more mature”: Cooper Manning once expressed faith in Arch Manning’s college decision

Considering the legacy his family has built in the football world, Arch Manning was a widely sought-after prospect at high school among college programs. Apart from the family name, the quarterback also possessed the talents that ranked him as an elite prospect in his class.

According to ESPN, Arch Manning received scholarship offers from a host of prestigious programs, including Texas, Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, Stanford, Clemson, Duke, Florida, Florida State, LSU, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, SMU, Tennessee, and USC.

Following several considerations and visits, Arch Manning eventually committed to the Longhorns. His father Cooper Manning appeared on “The Dan Patrick Show” in October 2022 to discuss his role in the recruiting process and how proud he is about his son’s decision.

“I really kind of took the role of just being kind of the concierge,” Cooper said (timestamp 0:28). “‘Let's go look at these schools. Let's go take a look.’ ‘Dad, I don't want to go, I want to just stay here.’ ‘...but we got to go see otherwise you're not going to be able to figure out what you like or you don't like.’”

“So a little bit of a nag, ‘Probably, if anything is going, let's take a look at this stuff and then.’ But he was a little more mature. All teenagers are immature, but he was a little more mature in what he liked and what he didn't like. And I liked some stuff that he didn't like, and vice versa.”

Cooper Manning explains how they help Arch Manning manage the pressure

With his family name and his level of talent, Arch Manning faced a lot of pressure during his recruiting process at high school. However, understanding how big this could be, his family was there to help him manage it. Cooper explained how they did that to Dan Patrick.

“I don't think that's fair to anybody,” Cooper said (timestamp 1:47). “I think anytime you start performing well, here come the naysayers, and here comes the pressure. So it's just part of the deal.”

“I think as long as we're trying to keep it pretty light. Hey, ‘look, this is high school football. You're playing it. Enjoy it. Enjoy your friends. No need to add extra pressure to it.’ I think that's why he said, ‘Look, let's just hold off from a lot of the media stuff and all these early scholarship offers.’”

The pressure did not stop after Arch Manning committed to the Longhorns. It only continued to grow. bigger, especially when he stepped onto the college football stage. The quarterback felt the heat right from his first spring game in Austin.

However, he's been able to deal with it personally as he continues to grow into the game. Still not yet a starter for the Longhorns, he's been able to show fans the glimpses of brilliance that should be expected.