Arch Manning gets open support from Texas HC Steve Sarkisian on his spring game struggles: "He should have still been in high school"

Arch Manning started life in college football with the Texas Longhorns during the spring game. However, the class 2023 No. 1 recruit had a performance to forget as he encountered significant difficulty during his unofficial debut in the team.

The highly-touted quarterback completed just 5 of 13 passes for 30 yards in the Orange's 21-10 loss to the White team. It was not a performance many Texas fans were expecting as the signal-caller was anticipated to hit the ground running.

Nonetheless, the Texas Longhorns head coach, Steve Sarkisian, is not concerned about Manning's early struggle in the program. He believes the quarterback is making progress and emphasized the fact that he should ordinarily be completing in his senior year of high school. Speaking on the Always College Football podcast, Sarkisian said:

"I felt like I needed to remind everybody, on our spring game, the guy should have been at the Senior Car Wash raising money for prom or something. He still should have been in high school at that game. It was an invaluable experience for him to be with us and to get a lot of that newness out.”

Manning enrolled at Texas early during the winter. He had very little time to learn the playbook and get acclimatized to college football. Sarkisian believes his humility will be key to his success with the team and he appears to be on the right track.

"He’s a normal guy with us and he’s a normal guy for himself and in and around the building. But for everybody else, when you carry the name, it comes with those expectations. So, I think for him to realize how to balance those types of things, in the end he’s on a great trajectory for us.”

Arch Manning starts Texas career as a backup

Arch Manning

After an impressive 2022 season and a brilliant performance in the spring games, Quinn Ewers will continue as Texas' starting quarterback in the upcoming 2023 season. The signal-caller threw for 2,177 yards and 15 touchdowns last season.

This gives Arch Manning the opportunity to observe and develop through his freshman year. With his performance at high school, there's no doubt about what the quarterback is capable of. He possesses all the physical tools and is renowned as a hard worker.

With Quinn Ewers expected to declare for the 2024 NFL Draft, Manning could get the starting role in his sophomore year at Texas. He can therefore make use of the freshman year to develop his game and acclimatize to the college football world.

After an 8-5 season in 2022, the Texas Longhorns are expected to have a stellar season in 2023. Former running back and Heisman winner, Ricky Williams, believes the Texas team can challenge for the national championship.