Arch Manning's father, Cooper, has full trust in the process at Texas under Steve Sarkisian

Texas' 2025 season didn't go as planned. The Longhorns hoped to be hoisting something a bit more prestigious than the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl trophy, but they believe what took place in that game is a sign of things to come.

Quarterback Arch Manning took home Citrus Bowl MVP honors after throwing for 221 yards and two touchdowns, while also leading Texas in rushing with 155 yards and two more scores in a 41-27 victory over Michigan. The face of the third generation of the Manning dynasty started to resemble a budding superstar, but it wasn't an easy year by any means. 

Arch's father, Cooper manning, kept faith in the process through the ups and downs.

"I was really glad to see him get better every week," Cooper told CBS Sports. "I think your confidence grows as you play more games. You learn how to win some games in the fourth quarter, and maybe when you didn't have your best stuff. 

"I think it's fun to watch your kids mature, but it's also fun to watch an athlete mature and start playing their best football as the season ends."

Cooper spoke to CBS Sports while promoting Capital One Venture X Business.

"I'm really flattered to be partnered with Capital One, especially this Venture X business card. It's been a godsend for us to be able to move around a lot. We traveled to a lot of football games this fall and I leaned on the Capital One Business travel guys to book flights, hotels, rental cars, fun dinners, and it's busy, but it was good not to worry about things and let them worry about the small things."

For Arch, the 2025 season ended just how it began, with Manning projected as the No. 1 overall pick in a future NFL draft. However, it's everything that took place along the way that was so interesting. The college football world was shocked to see Manning complete 56.7% of his passes for 170 yards, one touchdown and one interception in a 14-7 loss to Ohio State in the season opener. He threw for just 38 yards in the first three quarters, and did not look like a player that could live up to the lofty expectations set before him.

"I'm not sure you handle it. You just kind of deal with it," Cooper said of the preseason excitement centered around his son. "I think Arch said it best. It was a lot of undeserved hype. I mean, he had played two football games. I don't think anybody was going to live up to those expectations, and they were there to shoot him down, and he hung in there."

Texas dropped its SEC opener to Florida, won the Red River Rivalry in a matchup where Manning threw for just 166 yards, then needed overtime to defeat Kentucky and Mississippi State in back-to-back weeks. However, it was in that 45-38 come-from-behind victory against the Bulldogs when things started to click for Manning, even though he didn't finish the game.

Manning threw for 346 yards and scored four total touchdowns. His 46 passing attempts in that matchup marked a season-high, and his 346 passing yards were a season-high at the time as well. Over the final six games of the season, Manning averaged nearly 300 yards passing per game, and threw 14 touchdowns compared to two interceptions while Texas went 5-1.

In all, Manning completed 61.4% of his passes for 3,163 yards, 26 touchdowns and seven interceptions while adding 399 yards and 10 more touchdowns on the ground. What was the biggest lesson learned from the 2025 season? Manning's father says the more experience his son got, the more the game started to slow down.

"I think just to trust his coaches and trust his ability," Cooper said. "I think there were times early when he was going, 'Why did I screw that up?' Just hang tight. You're maybe putting a little too much pressure on yourself. Just try to sit back, enjoy and just take what's there, and it'll slow down for you."

Manning is famously walking a path many other college stars are not. He isn't in a rush to reach the NFL, his goal isn't to rack up NIL dollars and it was never about starting right away. Cooper is very aware of this brave new world, and understands programs have to adapt or get lapped. But he likes what they've found with Texas.

"We are probably a little old school," Cooper said. "I like going to college where you wanted to go to college. Where you want to make friends and develop relationships and grow up. It's not all easy. I'm not sure when Arch set out to go to school he wanted to sit as a backup for two years. Was it the best thing for him? Probably so. Sometimes the best thing for you is not the most fun. 

"These are young men that are dedicating a lot of time and I think they love the sport, but hopping around is not something I'm a fan of. But at the same time, if you don't adapt, you lose. And that's the way it works in business and in sports. The coaches probably don't love having free agency every year, but they adapt and I think they did very well trying to get people to come join the team. People recognize, 'Hey, a lot of these guys are sticking around here. They like where they are in Austin, they like the coaching staff.' You don't have a lot of turnover. You don't have a lot of people leaving that you didn't want to leave. It's a crazy time in college sports, but you have to either deal with it or you get left behind."

A home away from home

What's made things easier for the Manning family has been the support system at Texas. Steve Sarkisian is set to enter his sixth season in Austin, while Manning has a longstanding relationship with his position coach as well. 

"I think coach Sarkisian and Arch have a great relationship," Cooper said. "I think he's one of the great play callers. I think Arch has benefited a ton from having pretty much that offensive staff still be there. A.J. Milwee is the quarterbacks coach, he recruited him in high school and he's still on staff. Sark is still calling the plays, it's the same language, it's the same verbiage. It's the same.

"The other day we were watching a game and a quarterback ran into the end zone and kind of had the ball out, and Arch goes, 'Sark would yell at me so bad if I had scored without having that ball secure!' So you kind of know what they like and what they expect of you and that's all part of being in a program for a long time."

When it comes to expectations for Texas in 2026, Cooper didn't talk about a national championship or any individual accolades. Instead, he alluded to the young talent Texas possesses and how different this team could be. 

"I'm really looking forward to some guys that didn't get to play a lot last year who we saw play in the bowl game and really come on," Cooper said. "You know, that time between the end of the season and the bowl game is precious for the young guys. Some guys are going pro, some guys are in the portal. So some young guys come in and really get a lot of attention and play well in the bowl game. 

I'm excited for some young guys and obviously they brought in some portal people that are good players. So I think that's going to be a little bit of a wrinkle. People are going to have a little harder time scouting -- who is Texas early on?"