All that build-up, hype, patience and dare I say, restraint. Arch Manning paid his dues as he waited his turn from the shadows, and so did the masses. He probably could have jumped ship at this juncture last year when he was told he’d have to sit for a 2nd season behind Quinn Ewers on the depth chart. But Arch stood ten toes down, and boy are Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns faithful glad he did. Now NASA operates from nearby Houston, but this burnt orange rocketship out of Austin is now ready for takeoff. Amidst the fervor around Arch Manning’s ascension to QB1, Coach Sark has pointed to a trifecta of skills/virtues the QB has been cultivating while in the wings.
Before Arch Manning ever set foot on the UT-A campus, a section of the fanbase was already prepared to hand him that QB1 shirt. The last name that would’ve graced it, in tandem with what Arch put on tape, was enough. But coach Sarkisian knew better than to prematurely throw him into the deep end. Manning redshirting in 2023 made sense and the fans’ disapproval wasn’t very vocal. However, last season spawned a ton of calls for Manning to replace Ewers. These calls rose from a concoction of Ewers being relatively substandard to previous seasons, Manning having a year under his belt and Sark indeed playing the latter sporadically depending on in-game situations. The fans had gotten a taste, and as Paul Pierce once said, they wanted the whole load. Well, they did. For 2 games.
When Quinn Ewers went down with an oblique injury in Week 3, Arch Manning filled in as the starter. Although he was thrust in abruptly on short notice, Arch didn’t make it seem so. The transition was seamless. Texas won both games, and his contributions reflected on the statsheet. Alas, Steve Sarkisian didn’t waver from his plans and Ewers was reinstated into the team. Leaving those of a Texas persuasion slightly soured, but understandably. That said, those 2 games did a lot. It didn’t just give the program confidence Arch Manning is their QB of the future, but also induced Arch himself with a lot of it. Guesting over the Clean Pocket podcast with NFL vet Colt McCoy, Sark was asked how much that spell as the starter helped Arch. He gave an elaborate explanation for the same.
“[It was] huge, man…He had to prepare for two weeks to be the starter. One of those weeks was our SEC opener against Mississippi State. This wasn’t just [any game]. ‘Hey, bud. This one, like, really counts!’ Man, I think we saw some really [great] things.” said Steve Sarkisian. He proceeded to detail these “things”, segregating them into 3 categories: Athleticism, an ability to throw deep and leadership. “We saw athleticism that probably surprised a lot of people…thank God he got his grandpa’s athleticism! He can move.” remarked Sark. This weapon in Manning’s arsenal was the most commonly deployed one last year. Sarkisian used him to move the sticks and get first downs with his rushing ability on multiple occasions. The great Archie Manning’s genes really did permeate across. Sark then delved into the long-range passing and leadership facets.
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