The attention around Arch Manning is about to peak at levels beyond what we saw for Shedeur Sanders or any other superstar name over the last several years. The nephew of NFL legends Peyton Manning and Eli Manning, Arch Manning not only has to deal with outside expectations, the usual internal struggle that comes with adversity, but also the brightest spotlight possible.

Even while former Florida head coach Steve Spurrier throws doubt his way, and NFL Draft experts project Manning to go first overall despite his limited on-field experience, Manning was brought up like his uncles were. Despite being a Gen Z athlete who could've been raised on screens, Manning's family took a different route.

Manning didn't have a cellphone until middle school, and it couldn't be used at dinner. Instead, his parents guided Arch in ways most wouldn't have expected. Some of that was made easier because Arch gravitated away from modern pitfalls and was drawn to his dad's love for football.

It wasn't easy, as he was receiving scholarship calls in the sixth grade.

“I was like, ‘We’re not having any of this scholarship stuff,’” His father, Cooper, said. ‘This is ridiculous. He doesn’t even have braces yet.”

A big part of that approach is what also drove Cooper and Arch's mom, Ellen, to limit their cellphone access. Phones were to be charged in his parents' room until the 11th grade. While it wasn't always popular with their kids, Ellen explained why it was important to curtail the lure of social media addiction.

“It was all a distraction,” Cooper said. “I just saw too many people taking their kids to dinner and everybody else was talking and the kids are on their phones. I thought, we’re not having this junk. I was a little old-school, kind of copying my dad. We’re not playing video games. Get outside and go play. I don’t care, you’re not hanging around here just swiping and thumbing through some useless, endless stuff."

The most interesting part of The Athletic's story, though, is when Cooper revealed that while Arch is part of his historic bloodline, his uncles weren't exactly coaching him through his football career. If anything, they were just there once in a while.

“As much as they are great influences, they weren’t around a ton,” Cooper said. “I don’t think Eli ever saw Arch play a high school or college football game. He is coming in this year. Peyton would come in for a game or two occasionally. Arch would see them at the Manning Passing Academy and may see ’em at Mardi Gras, but that’s like five nights in a year, so it’s hard to say whether he’s ‘like them or like someone else.’

This setting-the-record-straight approach by Cooper might be somewhat surprising to some, as the allure of being coached and mentored by championship-winning and Hall-of-Fame-level quarterbacks is a good fairy tale. But it's not reality, despite what will be romanticized throughout Arch's career.

Ultimately, Arch's focus, internal drive, and poise are what will define his ceiling in 2025 and beyond. The on-field results in small snippets have been promising, completing 68% of passes for 939 yards, nine touchdowns, and two interceptions last year.

A full-time starting gig where the Longhorns start the season at Ohio State will be a much more revealing challenge, though. We're excited to see how Arch's journey unfolds as he becomes the man in Austin.