"That's going to be a concern": CFB insider points out major roadblock for Arch Manning as Steve Sarkisian looks for title run in 2025 season

The Arch Manning era officially begins at Texas with Steve Sarkisian opening the 2025 season against Ohio State on August 30. The Longhorns are coming off a major heartbreak from last season, where they fell short of making the national championship game. Coach Sark lost as many as 14+ players to the NFL draft and a couple to the transfer portal. Thus, it will be a pack of fresh faces led by Arch Manning at the helm.

While the expectations are clear, Texas needs a national championship; CFB insider Ross Dellenger claims it will depend on how Manning is protected inside the pocket. The 2025 roster only has a single returning lineman and the rest are fresh faces.

Andre Cojoe, Brandon Baker, Cole Hutson, and Nick Brooks are some of the prominent athletes in contention for the starting role.

“The line in front of him, while exceedingly talented, is not experienced at all. They lost everybody pretty much except one guy,” Dellenger said to Andy Staples and Steven Godfrey on Thursday. [Timestamp - 12:00]

Dellenger was recently at the Texas campus, where he held in-person interviews with the players and coaching staff. He mentioned that the offensive line will be a big mystery in Sarkisian's 2025 roster.

“They returned one full-time starter on the offensive line. So that's got to be a concern going into this thing, that you've got a whole set of offensive linemen.

“It is a new offensive line in front of a quarterback who's also, for the first time, a full-time starter; not only that, but has what feels like the weight of the universe on his shoulders,” he added.

Steve Sarkisian vows to give Arch Manning liberty to make on-field decisions

While it is not unusual that quarterbacks often make calls of their own during the clutch moments, especially in the fourth quarter.

For a first time starter like Manning, it could prove decisive. Coach Sarkisian mentioned that Manning will get his chances during the home games to make calls and remain flexible with the offensive scheme.

However, he signaled that road games can be tricky sometimes and Manning has a long way to go. It will be his first year, unlike Ewers, who had been a veteran of the game and got enough moments to try his luck and that turned out to be in Texas' favor. Looking at the current scenario, expect nothing less than a perfect season from Arch Manning & Co. in 2025.