One of the biggest stories coming out of the Texas Longhorns' fall camp this year has been the fact that starting quarterback Arch Manning loves to talk trash.
Everyone from defensive edge Colin Simmons to head coach Steve Sarkisian has said that Manning does anything but hold back during practices and scrimmages.
However, when Manning was asked about it himself, he turned to Senior Communications Associate Athletics Director John Bianco, completely lost as to why so many members of the media were asking him about his trash-talking skills.
"Did something 'trash talk' happen?" Manning asked, before Bianco let him know that everyone talks about his. "I'm really not that much of a trash talker, what's going on?"
One member of the media said that Sarkisian has brought it up on a few occasions, and Manning had the perfect response.
"He's a trash talker," Manning said about his head coach. "I'm really just a nice guy."
Arch Manning's confidence is right where Texas needs it to be
Of course, nobody was complaining about Manning talking trash, or not... other than maybe transfer linebacker Justin Cryer, who joked that "It’s kind of annoying."
In fact, having an offensive leader feel comfortable enough to get under the skin of his teammates is exactly what Texas has needed from Manning.
Now, do not take any of this as Manning actually speaking poorly of his teammates or his coaches. He is clearly doing it to get his entire team amped up, to get the energy level up, and to increase the level of competition on the 40 Acres.
Last season, the "swag" that Manning had been touted for having was missing, other than a few flashes of it, like when he scored a touchdown against Sam Houston State and stood over the defender.
"It's funny," Simmons said about Manning's trash talk. "It's funny cause he's my quarterback and I've been teammates with him for the past 2 to 3 years... He's good [at trash talking], but it's just funny hearing it from him."
This side of Manning wasn't something that people heard about over the last two years, and it might have been exactly what the Longhorns needed to see out of the quarterback to take that next step.
Of course, the Longhorns are still over a week away from kicking off the season with Manning leading the charge in the backfield. However, even if the Texas QB1 is not willing to admit it about himself, the swag and confidence we're seeing out of Manning are a great sign of what is to come.
Manning and the Horns are scheduled to start their 2026 campaign on Saturday, Sept. 5, with a home game against the Texas State Bobcats. The game is scheduled to kick off at 2:30 p.m. CT and will be aired on ESPN.
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