Arch Manning Raises the Level Around Him
Cole Cubelic
I think Arch Manning is one of those [glue guys], by the way, and probably doesn't get credit for that. I think Arch raises the level of the people around him, and people will probably never credit him for that. I think those kids love playing with him and for him, and they will never get credit for that because his name is Manning, and people just expect him to do these inhuman things. But what you're not going to notice is those other dudes play their tails off because they like him and they want to help him be better too.
Context
Cole's leadership read on Arch — a counter-narrative to the Manning-name-overhype framing. The argument is that the secondary effect (teammates competing harder for him) gets ignored because every conversation about Arch defaults to either "savior" or "overrated." The middle case — that he's a guy whose program-guy posture lifts the room — is invisible.
Note Cole's QB development thesis pairs with this: Arch was throwing wormburgers early in 2025, found his calm late, and a quarterback can't be great until he finds his calm. That late-2025 calm reads forward into 2026 as the foundation Texas's remaining glue piece.