Texas' Sarkisian Says Arch Manning Declined College Football 26 Video Game Cover Shoot

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian told reporters on Monday that both he and starting quarterback Arch Manning opted out of the photo shoot for the cover of College Football 26 during the Rose Bowl.

According to The Athletic's Chris Vannini, a leaked cover of the game featured Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith and safety Caleb Downs; Florida quarterback DJ Lagway; LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier; Penn State running back Nick Singleton; Alabama wide receiver Ryan Williams; Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt; Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love; South Carolina edge-rusher Dylan Stewart; and Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood.

A number of coaches also appeared on the leaked cover, including Ohio State's Ryan Day, Georgia's Kirby Smart, Penn State's James Franklin, Ole Miss' Lane Kiffin, Oregon's Dan Lanning and Arizona State's Kenny Dillingham.

There were also former players, including Reggie Bush, Tim Tebow and Denard Robinson, as well as the mascots from Georgia, Clemson, Oregon and Tennessee and fans representing a number of other schools.

College Football 25 was a resounding success as the first entry in the longtime series since 2013, when EA Sports stopped making the game due to Ed O'Bannon's lawsuit against the NCAA regarding name, image and likeness rights. With players now permitted to profit on NIL rights, the game returned and became the best-selling sports game in U.S. history.

This year's edition will release on July 10.

As for Manning, he heads into the 2025 season as one of the biggest names in the sport after backing up Quinn Ewers for two seasons in Austin. Given his lineage as Peyton and Eli Manning's nephew—and considering his fantastic play in relief duty when Ewers was injured last season—he's expected to be the top quarterback at the college level this season and perhaps the top overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft.