Steve Sarkisian reveals how Arch Manning earned belief of coaches, teammates: 'It's not because of the name'

After working his way up the depth chart at Texas, it’s officially Arch Manning’s time to shine. With Quinn Ewers heading to the NFL, the former Five Star Plus+ prospect will officially get the keys to Steve Sarkisian’s offense.

The hype built around Manning ever since he stepped foot on Texas’ campus in Fall 2023. But as fans clamored for the son of Cooper and nephew of Peyton and Eli to get more playing time, he instead worked to earn not only the trust of his coaches, but also his teammates.

Along the way, Sarkisian said Manning didn’t cut any corners or do anything different because of his last name. The young quarterback went about business as usual.

“At the end of the day, I think one of the things a quarterback has to do – and I think it goes kind of unnoticed at times,” Sarkisian told Kay Adams on Up and Adams. “A quarterback’s real job is to instill belief in his teammates, instill belief in the coaches, instill belief in an organization and then, instill belief in a fan base. And Arch does all those things. Like, hey, here he is.

“Again, it’s not because of the name. It’s who he is on a regular basis.”

After Manning arrived at Texas, Sarkisian made it clear the recruiting process was as “normal” as any he’d seen. But that sense of “normalcy” didn’t stop when he signed his National Letter of Intent. It continued through Manning’s freshman season as he tried to earn his stripes and build relationships with his coaches and teammates.

All the while, though, he also made sure to compete. With elements of his relatives in his game – notably his grandfather’s athleticism – Manning held his own.

“First of all, in the recruiting process, it was the most normal recruiting process,” Sarkisian said. “I’ve recruited a lot of quarterbacks in my time and had some great ones. They can be difficult. They can be tough. With Arch, it was so normal. Great family, great home life. When he got here, if you didn’t know who he was, you would’ve thought he was just a normal freshman trying to earn his way. It wasn’t about the name on the back of his jersey. It was, ‘How can I help? What can I do? Can I be a great teammate?’

“Nobody works harder. Not in the weight room, not on the field, not in the classroom, not studying. But what I love about him is his connection to his teammates. This guy gets along with everybody. Super competitive. Got way more swag than his uncles. He’s got the athleticism of his grandpa.”

Manning got some run as Texas’ starter while Ewers dealt with an injury in 2024, but mostly appeared in some short-yardage situations and in the red zone. All told, he made 10 appearances, throwing for 969 yards and nine touchdowns while adding 115 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground.

Now, Ewers is off to the next level. That means it will be Arch Manning’s show in Austin, starting with the season opener against Ohio State.