Longhorns QB Arch Manning Treatment 'Not Fair'? Why Grandpa Is Wrong

Archie Manning is is a proud grandpa.

But that doesn't mean he has to be a protective grandpa.

Texas Longhorns star quarterback Arch Manning - grandson of the legendary Archie and nephew of NFL icons Peyton and Eli - is a high-profile guy.

It's been that way for the entirety of his young life.

But grandfather Archie Manning is now complaining that it's all so unfair.

"I was kind of disappointed in a lot of, just a lot of people," Archie Manning told KXAN regarding the launching of his career in Austin. "The whole thing. They kind of crowned Arch before he ever played.

"And I just didn't think that was fair.''

Archie's grandson, who just turned 21, was indeed "crowned" ... but again, that pre-dates his decsion to become a Longhorn.

Coming out of high school, Arch was the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2023 recruiting class. 

He was "crowned'' then. And before that, too.

Who's at fault for that? 

The "system''? The media? His parents? Grandpa himself?

Who cares?

On a recent edition of The Joel Klatt Show, the Fox Sports college football analyst ranked his top 10 quarterbacks for the 2026 season, and Manning landed all the way at No. 2.

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The only quarterback Klatt put ahead of him? Oregon’s Dante Moore.

Notre Dame’s CJ Carr, Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and Ohio State’s Julian Sayin all checked in below the Texas starter, but also all very much in the same mix as high-profile college QBs who are destined to be high-profile NFL prospects.

So does that mean Moore, Carr, Chambliss and Sayin are also being "treated unfairly''?

Klatt made it clear this wasn’t just a raw talent ranking. It was about who he’d want for this season.

The Manning family lives a "Football Life.'' ... for three generations now. They know what they're signing up for, and that especially goes for young Arch. Well before Peyton and Eli became superstars, Grandpa was the No. 2 overall pick in the 1971 NFL Draft. ... and took a decade-and-a-half of NFL lumps.

Surely he's shared those seven decades of stories with his grandson, right?

We will presume that the Mannings play football because they're great at it, because they love it, and because they are pursuing all the wonderful things that come with stardom.

In a tale as old as football time, the QB - way back in school - gets to be the homecoming king and gets to date the cheerleader ... on the way to becoming an adult, when he gets those same things plus great wealth.

Forbes magazine suggests, for instance, that Peyton Manning's net worth is $400 million.

Would you trade a tad of "early crowning'' and "unfairness'' in exchange for a shot at becoming a king, marrying the head cheerleader and earning $400 million?

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Arch Manning didn't come to Texas because he's scared of the national spotlight; heck, that might be the No. 1 reason to be a Longhorn.

"Not fair''?

Archie's comments here create the (hopefully misguided?) impression that he's speaking for the family, or even for the kid ... an impression that makes the kid sound soft.

Grandpa did say that he takes pride in the way Arch rebounded last year from a shaky start.

"I've never been more proud of anybody in my life with the way Arch battled through what he had to go through last year, and the way he played, you know, the last eight or nine games of the season," Archie said.

Good. Grandpa should be proud. But when it comes to being overprotective? Grandpa should be quiet.