The spotlight on Arch Manning just got brighter. On Tuesday afternoon, the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation announced that the Texas sophomore quarterback has earned a coveted spot on the preseason watch list for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award—an honor reserved for the nation’s top senior or upperclassman quarterbacks poised to graduate with their class. This award doesn’t just celebrate stats—it honors leadership, character, and excellence both on and off the field.
Manning joins elite company. Just last season, Quinn Ewers, another Longhorn standout, cracked the Top 10 finalists. And in 2009, Texas legend Colt McCoy took home the trophy, etching his name into college football history.
But the Golden Arm nod is just one of many accolades Manning has racked up this preseason. He’s also on watch lists for the Davey O’Brien Award, the Walter Camp National Player of the Year Award, and the Maxwell Award. The media voted him preseason Third-Team All-SEC, while The Sporting News crowned him a First-Team All-American on August 6.
Now entering his third year on the Forty Acres, Manning has already made his mark. He’s appeared in 12 games with two starts, boasting a perfect 2-0 record as a starter. As a redshirt freshman in 2024, he completed 68% of his passes for 939 yards and nine touchdowns, while adding 108 rushing yards and four scores. His breakout moment came against UTSA, where he stepped in for an injured Ewers and lit up the field with 223 passing yards and four touchdowns—plus a 67-yard rushing score that had fans on their feet.
His first career start against ULM saw him throw for 258 yards and two touchdowns. But it was his performance against Mississippi State that truly turned heads: 325 passing yards, two touchdowns, and a rushing score, leading Texas to its first-ever SEC victory.
As the 2025 season unfolds, the Golden Arm watch list will narrow to semifinalists, then finalists, and finally one quarterback who will hoist the award in December at the Four Seasons Hotel in Baltimore—Johnny Unitas’ hometown. It’ll be a night of legacy, leadership, and celebration of college football’s finest.
