This weekend’s game between No. 1 Texas football and UTSA features two quarterbacks with plenty of experience and notable stats. But that isn’t the only thing that the Longhorns’ Arch Manning and the Roadrunners’ Owen McCown have in common.
Both quarterbacks also have ties to NFL passer. McCown’s father, Josh, played in the NFL for 18 years with 12 different teams, including a four-year stint with the Arizona Cardinals and three years with the Chicago Bears. And McCown’s uncle, Luke, was on seven different NFL rosters between 2004 and 2017.
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And Manning, of course, is a Manning.
On Monday, Manning revealed that he knew McCown and “hung out with him some of the summer. He’s a really good guy, a good player. He had a great year last year.”
Manning also was asked about the advantages and disadvantages to both him and McCown being the sons and family of NFL quarterbacks.
“I think the advantage is you get a lot of advice,” he said. “They’ve been in your shoes. You can lean on them. The comparisons, you’ve got to take that with a grain of salt. Everyone’s their own person. You try and take bits and pieces of their games, but you’ve got to be you.”
If you combined the résumés of Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning with the résumés of Josh and Luke McCown, that’s 72 NFL seasons to lean on. Will the younger Manning and McCown soon add to that number? The Athletic recently ranked Manning as the top quarterback prospect in the 2027 draft class and evaluated McCown as a top-25 prospect among senior quarterbacks.
McCown said last year he appreciates when his father, now a coach with the Minnesota Vikings, finds time to critique or compliment his Owen’s game.
“I think that dynamic has kind of been funny because during the season he’s always so busy and I’m so busy,” McCown told KSAT-TV in San Antonio. “But every now or then, when we have some down time, I’ll shoot him a couple videos and he’ll shot them back. That dynamic has worked since I’ve been a little kid.”
For now, though, both quarterbacks are focused on Saturday’s game at Royal-Memorial Stadium. Manning has thrown for 500 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions this season while McCown has 489 passing yards, four touchdowns and no turnovers. Two years ago, Manning accounted for five touchdowns after replacing an injured Quinn Ewers in the Longhorns’ 56-7 win over UTSA in Austin while McCown was limited to 132 yards despite completing 21 of his 29 attempts.
This article originally published at How relatives’ NFL experience helped shape Texas QB Arch Manning, UTSA’s Owen McCown.
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