Tom Brady defends Arch Manning, sees positive in adversity

Tom Brady didn’t seem too worried about Texas quarterback Arch Manning following the latter’s 2025 debut. Manning was held to under 200 yards and had one touchdown and a pick in the 14-7 loss to Ohio State.

At times, he looked flustered and the ball came out of his hand awkwardly. Still, he’s played before and some chalked it up to first game jitters. Others said the hype wasn’t warranted and Manning could be a borderline bust.

Brady went back to how quarterbacks deal with adversity and take advantage of the games where they don’t play well. He can see that for Manning.

“The blessing is, I don’t believe a quarterback, there needs to be resilience built up in the quarterback as well,” Brady said to Pro Football Focus. “So even though he didn’t have his best game today, and they lost, if he uses this to his advantage, Arch, he’s going to be tougher for it. He’s going to have a better next game because of it. And I always felt like you’ve got to deal with a lot of adversity, from a quarterback standpoint, to toughen you up to be the true leader for the organization.”

Others like Ryan Clark claimed Manning is not a “generational talent,” perhaps signaling Manning can’t come back from adversity. However, Clark said Manning can still be very good and that’s where he echoed Brady’s comments.

“Arch Manning is not a generational talent,” Clark wrote on X. “People placed expectations upon him without any evidence. He’s not Trevor Lawrence or Caleb Williams, who beat out returning starters as freshman.

“Instead Arch sat being a 7th round pick for 2 years. He’s a good player who will be very good, but let him to earn it. Arch has never faced top level competition. He didn’t play high level ball in Louisiana nor did he compete in the high school QB circuit. So, it’ll take time, & that’s ok.”

In Texas’ 14-7 loss to the Buckeyes, Manning completed 17-of-his-30 pass attempts for 170 yards and a touchdown, while also throwing an interception. Manning had particularly slow start in the loss, only recording 26 passing yards in the first half.

To his credit, he didn’t hang his head and racked up 144 yards in the second half, nearly leading the Longhorns to a comeback win. While 170 yards would be acceptable for some quarterbacks, many fans weren’t impressed by Manning’s performance.

Manning entered this season as one of the most hyped quarterbacks in recent memory. The media swarmed him at SEC Media Days, and pundits like Paul Finebaum compared him to 2007 Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow.

Texas’ next two opponents are San Jose State and UTEP. The non-Power Four opponents should give Manning a chance to build confidence as Texas heads into SEC play.

The Longhorns will square off against San Jose State at noon ET on Saturday. The game will air live on ABC.