Arch Manning's ability to take hits as they come (in-game or not) is a dream

In the first week of the season, Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning didn't feel all that much pressure, only taking one sack and having a seemingly endless window to make decisions behind his revitalized offensive line.

However, it was actually an off-field, non-game moment that led to Manning's biggest hit of the day.

As the team ran out of the tunnel, in the usual cloud of smoke, Manning actually got caught by a bystander and hit the deck.

The unexpected tumble went viral almost immediately after the Horns had secured their win over the Texas State Bobcats, and to the surprise of nobody, Manning was asked about the incident during his first media availability of the week.

"It was definitely a little bit of a shock. I was definitely thrown off," Manning said with a smile on his face. "It's hard to see in that smoke; it's a little deceiving, but it was good getting my first hit before the game started and get ready to roll."

What a perfect response for the Longhorns' offensive leader. No blaming, no complaining, just making light of the situation and reassuring everyone that he was just fine after the run-in.

Arch Manning's pre-game tunnel tumble didn't slow him down

Of course, Manning recovered from the hit almost immediately and undeniably got the game rolling, as he said.

Manning went 20-of-27 through the air (74.1%) for 305 passing yards and four touchdowns, tying his career high. Even with his interception at the end of the first half, it was one of the best performances of his career, and it set the tone that everyone needed to see out of Manning in the first game of the year.

Obviously, Manning's reaction to the incident wasn't shared by everyone in the sport, with talking heads like ESPN's Pat McAfee shouting about the tumble on his show.

"That can't happen," McAfee shouted. "'Anybody but Arch, this could happen to,' I think, would be the sentiment. 'Hey, Arch, we're gonna need you to run down the middle of the tunnel.'"

Of course, standing at 6-foot-4 and 222 pounds, Manning isn't just hard to take down (much less for an average Joe standing on the sideline of the tunnel), but he is also extremely resilient, quickly bouncing back from hits.

That much became quickly evident during his first season as Texas's starting quarterback, continuously standing tall in the backfield even as his offensive line allowed pass rushers to flood his space.

In 2025, Manning was sacked 23 times and was pressured on 38% of his dropbacks. Despite getting beat up at seemingly every turn, he never backed down from incoming pressure and always popped right back up after taking a hit.

Simply put, both Manning's physical and mental abilities to remain resilient after taking hits, no matter when or where they happen, are exactly what teams like the Longhorns look for in a QB1.

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