People see the bright stadium lights, but they often miss the heavy shadows cast on a young player’s mind. Arch Manning, who was already crowned a future No. 1 pick by sports outlets, knew this burden early on. That was in 2025, and the Texas QB hadn’t even crossed 100 career pass attempts then. But that’s the reality of carrying the Manning name in college football, and it has a lot to do with growing mental pain, as Steve Sarkisian pointed out.

“Mental health is a very big issue right now in college athletics,” Steve Sarkisian said during Mental Health Awareness Week. “So much has changed from NIL to revenue sharing to social media. There’s so much more added pressure on players and student athletes these days.”

Things have changed a lot. College football is no longer just football. It’s branding and valuation and nonstop public judgment at the expense of these young players who are still struggling with their emotions as individuals. 

“We’ve got to do a great job as an athletic department in supporting them,” he added. “So they can be in the best frame of mind to not only play well, but just to be healthy and to be great human beings. And I think we’ve got a responsibility to support them in that.”

Sarkisian’s words were not just for show. Texas also moved to strengthen player support behind the scenes, giving athletes better access to mental wellness help when pressure rises.

Arch felt the heavy weight of expectations. Last September, Texas entered the season believing its backup QB would turn into a true star. Instead, the first few weeks crushed fans’ hopes and fed criticism. He had a rough outing against Ohio State in a 14-7 loss, where he managed only 170 yards and one score. Then came the dark phase. Against UTEP, he completed just 11 of 25 passes for 114 yards. His confidence and timing looked off. And afterward, he admitted the truth about his struggles. 

“Quite mental, to be honest,” he said. “I think I just need to go out there and play my game.”

Talent was never the issue, but pressure was. The Manning last name makes everything louder, since his uncles, Peyton and Eli, both won Super Bowls. People expect the same kind of success. That kind of pressure can mess with your head.

Even Longhorns junior OL Trevor Goosby acknowledged how overwhelming the environment can become.

“It’s very important,” he said. “Obviously, coming to Texas, it’s a big pressure. We’re such a big university. It’s a big pressure on us to play great. And I just think it’s really important as well to take care of y’all’s mental health and to make sure that you’re doing okay because it’s okay to not be okay.”

And maybe Arch Manning learned that early on because his 2025 season revealed two sides. 

Arch Manning opens up on last season’s pressure

Further down the road against Florida, Arch Manning threw two fourth-quarter picks that turned a close game into a painful loss. Against Kentucky, they won but barely, as the offense dragged through a bad performance. At one point, Arch Manning admitted he simply wasn’t enjoying football.

“I think I could have had more fun,” he said. “The first half of the season, I was (ticked). I wasn’t playing well, and it wasn’t fun for me.”

That’s the part of QB pressure we don’t see. For Arch Manning, football once stopped being the game he loved. But then something changed.

“And then I kind of sort of said ‘screw it’ and had a little more fun and started winning some games,” he said. 

And that’s when the wins started coming. Against Mississippi State, Arch Manning threw for 346 yards and three scores while dropping another three on top-10 Vanderbilt without a single pick. Texas then finished 10-3 with a Citrus Bowl win over Michigan. And while they didn’t make the playoffs, the ending is important because it showed what their QB could become once the mental stress disappeared.