Redshirt sophomore quarterback Arch Manning already has a lot of pressure weighing on his young shoulders just starting under center for the Texas Longhorns. Of course, after announcing his arrival during parts of the 2024 college football season, Manning is being pegged as a Heisman Trophy favorite now that the QB1 job is officially his.
In 10 appearances last year, Manning put up 939 passing yards and was responsible for 13 total touchdowns behind starter Quinn Ewers. He earned two wins on his own when Ewers went down with injury.
His family name comes with expectations of its own, but now there are national championship aspirations added to them. Thankfully for him, his head coach goes to bat for his guys and knows when and how to hit the pressure release valve for them.
Steve Sarkisian rationally tempers expectations for Texas QB Arch Manning
Steve Sarkisian went on ESPN's Always College Football on Wednesday and tempered expectations in the most rational way possible. He explained how Manning won't have the same NFL-ready offensive line that Ewers enjoyed, but added that the program reloaded and will need this offseason to be ready for the new campaign.
"You know, the biggest thing we lost, you lose a Kelvin Banks, so that’s a big loss. Speaking about a top 10 pick," Sarkisian said. "I think one of the biggest things we lost was the continuity that that group had, you know, they played so much football together."
He added that Manning will have a new center to get into a rhythm with, but he's confident the new additions he brought in via the transfer portal and the recruiting trail will be able to pick up where last year's team left off with the right coaching.
"And then we have some young, budding stars that we feel like, man, they’re ready," Sarkisian said. "We’ve got plenty of talent in that room. It’s getting these guys to play as one unit."
The Longhorns will have to do so quickly. They have a Week 1 date in Columbus with the defending national champion Ohio State Buckeyes. That reality isn't lost on Sarkisian either.
"But it won’t be because of talent,” he said. “It’s just going to be about those guys playing together and having the confidence to do so, and then having to do it Week 1, like we don’t get a couple preseason games to get ready to go. When you go to the horseshoe to play Ohio State in Week 1, we’ve got to get them ready to play, and [there is no better way] to get them ready to play than having them block our front, you know, every day in practice because our guys are really good.”
This shouldn't be read as Sarkisian throwing his offensive line under the bus for Manning's potential failures as a first-year starter before the season even begins. Rather, he's getting ahead of the story that will inevitably sprout if Manning doesn't have the stellar start everyone thinks he's going to have, setting the expectations at reasonable levels.
Manning, despite sportsbook projections, probably isn't going to the NFL after this upcoming season. Sarkisian seems to be laying the groundwork for Manning's junior year where he'll be more seasoned and expectations will match his abilities. He knows all too well from his USC days (ahem, Sam Darnold) what can happen when the hype is left unchecked.