The most popular quarterback in Austin made a surprising stop this week.
Texas Longhorns star Arch Manning was spotted at a seventh grade football game Monday featuring Hill Country Middle School, a junior high for Westlake, Chaps varsity football coach Tony Salazar confirmed to the American-Statesman. A team schedule on the school website says that Hill Country was facing Lake Travis.
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Manning’s father, Cooper – brother to famous NFL quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning – appeared to be taking in the game as well.
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A Facebook post from Cord Shiflet, an Austin realtor who has a son on the middle school team, brought attention to Manning’s presence at the game. Shiftlet told the American-Statesman his son, Bevo, played in one game and snapped photos of Manning during the other.
“Okay…..I’ll admit…..it’s pretty cool with The Man himself comes to watch your 7th grader’s middle school football team,” the post read in part. Shiftlet said he and his son were taking photos when he received a text that the quarterback had come to the game. “It was really awesome to see what that did for the kids and how excited they were to know he was there. That was a very cool moment to witness.”
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Shiflet, a Texas alumni, according to his Facebook, ended the post with a #HookEm.
Luke Kapono and PJ Schneider look in the direction of Texas quarterback Arch Manning (not pictured) as he watched a middle school football game Sept. 28, 2026 in Austin. (Bevo Shiftlet)
Texas quarterback Arch Manning chats with a young fan during a middle school football game Sept. 28, 2026 in Austin. (Bevo Shiftlet)
Other Facebook users chimed in as well.
Texas Longhorns’ quarterback Arch Manning (16) takes the field as the Texas Longhorns and Ohio State Buckeyes face off at Royal-Memorial Stadium in Austin on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. (Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman)
“Arch doing Manning things. Great family and here’s proof!” one person commented on the post.
“Such a classy young man!!!!! Hook em!” another said.
Manning and the top-ranked Longhorns are off this week before traveling to Norman to take on the Oklahoma Sooners at 2:30 pm Oct. 10.
The 6-foot-4 quarterback has completed 63.5% of his passes this season for seven touchdowns and three interceptions. He also considered him one of the top prospects in the 2027 NFL Draft, with some mock drafts slating him to be selected with the No. 1 pick.
Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (center) watches a middle school football game with his father, Cooper, on Sept. 28, 2026 in Austin. (Bevo Shiftlet)
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This article originally published at Social media reacts to Arch Manning stopping at Austin-area middle school football game.
