David Pollack said on his See Ball Get Ball podcast that an SEC coach told him Arch Manning will not play for the Texas Longhorns next season.
“Arch will not be at Texas next year,” Pollack said. “This is something that I’ve heard from an SEC coach, and I believe 100% it’s going to happen. So the question is, NFL or another college? I think he’ll be playing college football. I don’t think it will be at Texas next year.”
A split could work for both sides in Pollack’s view.
“I think it will make a lot of sense for both to go their own ways, possibly,” Pollack said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen the rest of the year, and I don’t know what the coaching situation is going to look like, but I think it would probably be something that might be like, hey, this is good for both of us. Maybe we both go our separate ways.”
Pollack played at Georgia, where he was a three-time first-team All-American.
“That same coach that told me that actually said, ‘I think he’ll go to Georgia,’ but can’t name names and that stuff,” Pollack said.
It was the second time this week Pollack pointed Manning toward Athens. On Monday, during an appearance with Takeo Spikes for Bleacher Report, he said Manning would not be back in Austin unless the season turned around in a big way. He added that an SEC head coach told him he would be shocked if Manning did not end up at Georgia.
Georgia was one of Manning’s three finalists out of high school. He committed to Texas on June 23, 2022, choosing Steve Sarkisian’s program over Georgia and Alabama after official visits to all three that month.
Manning is 124-of-196 passing (63.3 percent) for 1,507 yards this season. He has thrown 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions in seven starts.
On Oct. 10 at the Cotton Bowl, Manning threw two fourth-quarter interceptions in a 27-24 loss to Oklahoma. Florida won by the same score a week later when Manning fumbled on Texas’ final drive.
Texas (5-2, 2-2 SEC) beat Ole Miss 34-27 on Saturday. Manning completed 18 of 30 passes for 212 yards, threw a touchdown and two interceptions, and ran for two more scores, his first rushing touchdowns of the season.
“Arch is playing football at Texas next year,” Cooper Manning wrote last December in a text to ESPN’s Dave Wilson.
Over 12 regular-season games in 2025, his first as the starter, Manning threw for 2,942 yards with 24 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
Two days after the Florida loss, Sarkisian said he had a good meeting with Manning.
“I think there’s no doubt about it, Arch can play better for us,” Sarkisian said. “He’s our starter, but I need to see a better version of Arch Manning, like I need to see a better version of a lot of guys on our offensive football team right now. We need to see a better version of him this week.”
Pete Thamel of ESPN reported on Oct. 19 that redshirt freshman KJ Lacey Jr. would take more first-team reps in practice. Sarkisian said Lacey gets those reps every week.
Mississippi State visits Austin on Saturday night. Texas then plays at Missouri on Nov. 7 and at LSU on Nov. 14.
