Texas Longhorns QB Arch Manning shares message mother Ellen Heidingsfelder gave after TD ‘flex’ vs Sam Houston State

Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning forgot the context surrounding a five-yard touchdown run on second and goal set against the Sam Houston State Bearkats that put his team up 13-0, before he “flexed” over linebacker Antavious Fish.

The Longhorns entered the 55-0 blowout victory over the Bearkats as massive favorites, but Texas went above and beyond. So did Manning.

Arch shared a humorous message to the media that shared insight into how his mother, Ellen Heidingsfelder, felt about his first touchdown run of the 2025 season, and his first of two on Saturday, not to mention his post-score celebration.

“It felt good to be back in the end zone. It was probably a little much, my mom was mad at me,” Manning said postgame.

Manning caught flak from the national media for his display, though some humanized his actions after struggles through the season’s first few weeks, which raised some questions about whether he was injured.

On3’s Ari Wasserman saw Manning’s side, though he clowned him for flexing on a “future Progressive Insurance claims adjustor.”

“I'm so torn on Arch Manning flexing on that dude from Sam Houston State,” Wasserman wrote.

“1. Manning has been through a lot this past few weeks and you can imagine he has a lot of bottled emotion to let out. Also, he is trying to find his swagger. 

“2. He flexed on a future Progressive Insurance claims adjustor and it's like, what.”

Regardless of what anyone thinks, Manning badly needed an 18/21 passing, five all-purpose touchdown game, given his struggles against the Ohio State Buckeyes, San Jose State Spartans, and UTEP Miners this season.

He got that. And perhaps he got a little too excited about it in the process.