Steve Sarkisian ‘Feels Very Comfortable’ With Arch Manning as Texas Longhorns Backup

The Texas Longhorns are entering the 2024 season with arguably the best quarterback room in the country.

That unit will be led by starting QB Quinn Ewers, who helped guide the Horns to their first Big 12 title since 2009, as well as a College Football Playoff appearance.

However, in each of the last two seasons, Ewers has been sidelined for multiple weeks with an injury, leaving the backup quarterback with the responsibility of keeping things afloat until his return.

Fortunately for the Horns, they have the luxury of Arch Manning to fill that role in 2024, and during an appearance on the On Second Thought podcast with the Austin-American Statesman’s Kirk Bohls and Cedric Golden, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian opened up about Manning, and how far he has come during his time in Austin.

Nov 24, 2023; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) looks to pass the / Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports

“I think Arch has come a long way. That was part of the reason I wanted to play him so much in the spring game because he didn’t have a lot of experience. He had limited reps in the spring game a year ago, then he got a few scrimmage type (reps) in fall camp, pretty limited stuff there in the fall in-game reps. So, when this came around knowing, hey I had Arch and had Trey Owens, I needed those guys to go play. I needed them to get reps. I needed them to fail a little bit and have to rebound… I tried to make it as game-like as possible because those guys are a play or two away from leading for us on the team.”

Of course, with that inexperience also comes some areas in which Manning still needs to improve.

One of the biggest areas in which it was very obvious that Manning had progressed during the spring game, was in his ability to read the defense and make throws down the field under pressure.

During his limited reps last season in both the spring game and against Texas Tech and Oklahoma State, Manning displayed a tendency to rely on his legs, and in many cases, made that decision too quickly.

And while Sarkisian realizes the impact of Manning’s ability to run, he also believes part of that development is learning how to get the ball to his playmakers.

Texas Longhorns quarter back Arch Manning (6) carries the ball in the Longhorns’ spring Orange and / Sara Diggins/American-Statesman / USA

“For a guy like Arch, even going back to the Tech game a year ago when he was in, he utilized his legs and you could feel the impact that it had,” Sarkisian said. “(But) I think it’s a fine line… we would much rather have the fast guys catch the ball and run than the quarterbacks.”

All things considered, however, Manning looked every bit the part in the Orange-White game last month, throwing for over 300 yards and three touchdowns, and showing tremendous rapport with his pass catchers.

And as a result, Sarkisian is extremely comfortable with the idea of Manning being the ‘next man up’ should Ewers suffer another injury at some point next season.

“I feel very comfortable with Arch and where he’s at. He showed a ton of growth. I’m proud of his growth,” Sarkisian said. “I feel good about that room and if those guys’ numbers are called that they’ll be ready to perform.”