Certified Padres fan Arch Manning poses with star pitcher Joe Musgrove after disappointing faceoff with Mariners

Texas quarterback Arch Manning has been the talk of college football as he waits to ascend to the Longhorns' QB1 spot after taking over from Quinn Ewers, who departed for the NFL via the draft. After being Ewer's backup for two seasons, Manning got the nod from coach Steve Sarkisian to be the Longhorns' starting quarterback in 2025.

During the off-season, Manning has been posting pictures of various activities he has been involved in after Texas's spring training. On Saturday evening, the Texas quarterback attended the San Diego Padres' 4-1 loss to the Seattle Mariners at Petco Park.

Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove posted a picture on Instagram of himself with Arch Manning after the game. Musgrove captioned the picture that was also reposted by Manning:

"Lotta firepower at Petco today!," Musgrove wrote.

Musgrove's IG stories

Arch Manning praised for off-season work

The Arch Manning hype train has picked up more steam in the offseason as the 2025 college football season approaches. According to BetMGM, Manning is the favorite to win the 2025 Heisman Trophy (+700) ahead of Clemson Tigers QB Cade Klubnik (+1100) and Penn State Nittany Lions' QB Drew Allar (+1300).

During a news conference last week, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian revealed the work that the highly-regarded Manning had been putting in to be the Longhorns' QB1 during the offseason.

"I just continue to see a guy who has taken it and is trying to really go for it," Sarkisian said. "He just doesn't want to leave any stone unturned. He's working at his craft. He's working so hard in the offseason conditioning runs.

"He's now setting up those voluntary throwing sessions with the receivers during the week or on the weekend. He's breaking the team down, doing all those natural things that a quarterback has to do to instill belief in his teammates, to instill belief in the staff."

During an interview with On3 at the NFLPA rookie premiere on Friday, Manning's former teammate, Quinn Ewers, also backed the quarterback's work ethic.

“I’m super excited to see what he (Manning) does," Ewers said. "He’s a hard-working kid, he’s a hard studier. He’s going to set himself up to be as successful as he wants to be, and I think he’s got a chance to go do exactly that and continue on living out what we built at Texas.”

Arch Manning will command the spotlight as one of the most talked-about players in college football next season as he steps into the role as the starting quarterback for the Texas Longhorns.