CFB insider makes thoughts abundantly clear on Arch Manning and Steve Sarkisian’s EA CFB 26 cover opt-out decision

College football insider J.D. Pickell is a fan who Arch Manning and Steve Sarkisian said no to being on the EA CFB 26 cover.

The deluxe cover was leaked, which featured the likes of Jeremiah Smith and Kirby Smart. It was notable that Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian and quarterback Arch Manning weren’t there.

Pickell likes the fact they said no to the cover, as he says it shows Texas just cares about what they do on the field, and not off the field.

“You know who wasn’t on there was Steve Sarkisian and Arch Manning. Steve Sarkisian told the Houston Touchdown Club we said thanks but no thanks to making the trip out to the Rose Bowl to do the photo shoot…,” Pickell said right off the beginning of the video.

“I absolutely love that Arch and Sark said, no we are cool with that… As much as I love the video game, for Texas to be as close as they were the last couple of years, came down to the margins, came down to one play against Washington, a play against Ohio State. If you show me where your time is going, I’ll show you what you care about. I have to believe Arch Manning and Steve Sarkisian said no to this, their time is going towards football and getting to the top of the college football mountain.”

Although Sarkisian and Manning decided not to go to the Rose Bowl for the photo shoot, Pickell says that doesn’t mean any of the coaches or players who did aren’t as focused on football, he just likes that Texas decided not to.

Pickell makes a fair point that Texas has been one of the closest teams to winning it all and says their focus is on that.

Arch Manning is ready to be the Longhorns’ starting QB in 2025

Arch Manning and the Texas Longhorns enter 2025 with plenty of hype.

Manning is set to be the Longhorns’ starting quarterback in 2025 after sitting behind Quinn Ewers for two seasons.

Entering 2025, Manning is eager to finally get the chance to start and help Texas get over the hump.

“It was tough. I mean, it’s tough in this age,” Manning said, via The Athletic. “But I hope it pays off. There’s nowhere else I want to be. I want to be at Texas. I’ve got friends here; I love this place. So I want to be the quarterback at the University of Texas. Sometimes it’s worth the wait.”

Manning started and appeared in multiple games last season due to an injury to Ewers. He went 61-for-90 for 939 yards, 9 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions last season for the Longhorns.

Manning enters 2025 as the Heisman frontrunner with odds of +700.