Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning decided to undergo foot surgery this offseason. While that does sound concerning, the soon-to-be redshirt junior makes a claim that should help the fanbase sleep at night.
While Texas is setting up for Fan Day on Saturday, April 18, Manning has not been able to participate in any 11-on-11 team drills since undergoing surgery in February. Despite that, he has worked in some 7-on-7 drills and claims that if the Longhorns had a game right now, he would be able to play, according to Chris Low of On3 Sports. Manning also explains how difficult it is not to practice with his teammates during the offseason because of the surgery.
“I feel great,” said Manning. “If we had a game right now, I could play… I do get antsy not being out there the whole time with the guys. It's hard for me to watch them go through the tough practices and me not be out there. So I try to do as much as I can for them to feel my presence.”
Arch Manning initially suffered the foot injury during the Longhorns' 17-7 win over the Texas A&M Aggies back in November 2024 while scrambling for a touchdown in the first quarter of t the contest. Manning played through the injury throughout the 2025-26 campaign. He admitted that everyone in his camp felt it was best to address the issue now and clean things up.
“There was just so much day-to-day stuff to make it feel good for the games (last year) that everyone kind of thought it was the best idea to go ahead and get the surgery done this offseason,” said Manning.
Last season got off to a bumpy start for Arch Manning. But as the season progressed, he seemed to find his groove. Manning ended his first year as the starting quarterback for Texas with 3,163 passing yards, 399 rushing yards, and 36 total touchdowns (26 passing, 10 rushing) while completing 61.4% of his pass attempts.
