This won’t be just another season for the Texas Longhorns in college football — it marks the beginning of a new era with Arch Manning stepping in as the team’s on-field leader. Expectations are high for the young quarterback moving forward, and head coach Steve Sarkisian has been closely monitoring his progress throughout this crucial preseason.
Quinn Ewers’ departure to the NFL immediately opened the door for Manning to taker over as the starting signal-caller at Texas. With the Southeastern Conference shaping up to be more competitive than ever, reaching peak form will be absolutely crucial.
Steve Sarkisian is well aware of the situation, which is why he is tracking the progress of his top star during this crucial stretch of preparation ahead of the new season.
“I don’t know if I have necessarily expectations, you know,” the HC stated to the press. “I think, when we visited with Arch coming out of Saturday, there was probably five or six plays that I’m very confident he’s going to make as we move forward, you know. Saturday was, what, our ninth practice of fall camp. It’d be like, essentially a preseason game. It’d be like playing the Hall of Fame Game, right. So, to think that we’re a fine-tuned machine in that practice? Probably not realistic. But he came out today and had a great practice.
Arch Manning #16 of the Texas Longhorns warms-up prior to a game against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Bryant-Denny Stadium on September 09, 2023 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
He also added: “And so, again, that work in progress? He didn’t do anything, like, catastrophically bad, but I just know what he’s capable of. And so, we’ve just got to keep, you know, tightening the screws to make sure that he’s performing the way, you know, he’s capable of performing. And I think part of that is physically and part of that is, mentally, the leadership that he provides to the guys around him to allow them to help him play the way that he’s capable of playing.”
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Blocking out the distractions
Sarkisian knows exactly what Arch Manning has represented since arriving in the program — and even more now that he’s set to take the reins of the first team starting this week. That’s why the head coach believes avoiding unnecessary distractions will be key for the quarterback and his teammates to unlock his full potential and stay on course.
“What I know is what I see every day, and he seems good to me,” Sarkisian said. “You know, we visit a fair amount to make sure that what frame of mind is he in, where I think he performs the best. This is going to be a long season and, unfortunately, we live in a world of he’s the greatest ever or is going to be a bust and there’s not a lot of in between. And it’s kind of like where we are as a team. We’re either going to be national champs or we’re going to be a bust.
“Like, that’s the mentality outside of our building. We don’t really think that way. I don’t think Arch thinks that way. I think Arch thinks about, ‘What am I doing today to improve? What am I doing today to be the best teammate I can be when the game weeks roll around? What am I doing to prepare to put myself in the best position to perform?’. I just don’t think he’s that concerned.”
Early tests for the Longhorns
With the primary goal of making a strong statement in the SEC and positioning themselves as serious contenders for the National Championship Game, these are the first challenges the Longhorns will face:
- @ Ohio State, August 30
- vs San Jose State, September 6
- vs UTEP, September 13
- vs Sam Houston, September 20
- @ Florida, October 4
