Cooper Manning talks Arch, life as a football dad and much more | Always College Football

Cooper Manning joins Greg McElroy to discuss what it is like being a parent of an elite college football player, what people get wrong about raising athletes, how to convince young players to be humble and what it is like navigating today’s hyper-analysis of college football players as a parent. Plus, we hit the mailbag and answer questions about the “next Indiana”, the NCAA going nuclear, AD’s new dilemma and the potential of the Super League in the near future. 0:00 There is no offseason in college football 2:58 Cooper Manning joins the show 3:45 Growing up in the Manning household 5:25 The different personalities of the Manning brothers growing up 9:10 Why not focusing on one position or sport helped shape the family 11:00 How important it is to be relaxed around young athletes as a parent 12:45 What are we getting wrong about raising elite athletes 12:15 How to convince premier athletes (like Arch) to be humble and simple 14:50 Cooper talks about Arch’s recruitment 17:00 Picking the right university is a BIG process - how Arch ended up at Texas 20:10 What is was like “embracing” the weight of playing time 23:50 Cooper’s parenting philosophy was shaped throughout his life 25:50 How Cooper has dealt with criticism towards Arch from the media 28:15 Mailbag 28:40 Will any teams get punished by the NCAA portal penalties in 2026? 32:30 Who is the next “Indiana”? 38:50 If you were an AD would you go for a proven winner or “can’t miss” head coach? 43:50 Will big time programs end up leaving their conferences? 49:25 Will conferences really ever pool media rights together like the NFL? ✔️ Subscribe to ESPN Unlimited: https://plus.espn.com/cfb #ESPN