Steve Sarkisian describes how to keep Arch Manning happy behind Quinn Ewers

One challenge for Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian has been to keep star quarterback Arch Manning happy while sitting behind Quinn Ewers. After all, as a highly-rated quarterback, most would expect Manning to see the field quickly in his career.

However, as Sarkisian explained on the Dan Patrick Show, he sees patience in Manning that he attributes to his family and his desire to properly develop as a quarterback.

“The one thing with Arch that has been — and I really credit his family,” Steve Sarkisian said. “His mom and his dad, his grandpa, obviously his uncles. I think they understand the process. So many times we’re in this world now of instant gratification, right, whether it’s social media or the five-star recruit comes in and starts right away, but if you really look back at the history of Eli [Manning] and Peyton [Manning], they didn’t start their freshmen year. It took time as they developed.”

Arch Manning, the son of Cooper Manning, played quarterback at Isidore Newman in Louisiana where he was a five-star recruit and the top-ranked player overall in the Class of 2023, according to the On3 Industry Ranking. Since getting to Texas, he’s acted as a backup quarterback for the Longhorns.

“I think the one thing that the Mannings understand is that when it’s your time to play, they want to play really well. They don’t want to be learning on the job,” Sarkisian said. “So, we’ve got a pretty good history and tradition of developing quarterbacks over the last 20 or so years, going all the way back to Carson Palmer and all the guys that we’ve coached.”

Manning is now going into his second season at Texas. It’s also the second season that he’s expected to serve as a backup. That’s something he’s willing to do, according to Sarkisian, because of his understanding about player development.

“I think we’ve seen an immense amount of development in Arch. We feel very comfortable if and or when he gets in the game. He’s going to play good football for us,” Sarkisian said. “But I also think they understand the process of developing him to be a championship-caliber quarterback in the SEC and on the national stage, but also preparing and putting himself in the best position for the National Football League.”

The season kicks off for Texas on August 31st with a home game against Colorado State. It’s a season where  Inside Texas‘ Joe Cook says Arch Manning will get snaps but emphasized that the team is looking to Quinn Ewers as its leader this season.