Steve Sarkisian: The Manning DNA is apparent in Arch

While Arch Manning might not even be the starting quarterback for Texas this fall — Quinn Ewers will have something to say on the matter — Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian is already seeing how seriously the young quarterback is taking his role. Speaking on The Pivot Podcast, Sarkisian delved into how the latest Manning quarterback fits in the family mold.

Sarkisian likes that Manning is still a kid and not completely polished, but he said it’s evident he comes from a long line of successful, driven quarterbacks. Sarkisian suggested that it must be something in the Manning gene pool.

“But what he does have, that I think is somewhere in the Manning DNA, this guy loves football. He works at football. We practice in the morning, that evening he wants to already be up here watching every one of his plays. He works at his craft. He wants to be great. There’s no doubt about it. And I think that’s why he came here,” Sarkisian said.

Sarkisian shared an additional anecdote on top of the film review to demonstrate how invested Manning is in being great at football.

After he committed to Texas, Manning asked the coached a basic question: What recruits do you want me to try and pull to join this class?

“And he started talking to Ced Baxter, he started talking to Anthony Hill. He started talking to Johntay Cook. And we ended up with one of the top recruiting classes in the country. But he spearheaded that like a really good quarterback should. Right? They’re the leaders of that class and where this program can go,” Sarkisian said.

The Longhorns finished with the No. 3 overall class in the 2023 cycle according to the On3 Industry Ranking.

On3 senior national recruiting analyst Gerry Hamilton concurred with Sarkisian that Manning bolstered the 2023 signing class in a profound way.

“Arch was very critical for Sarkisian signing the No. 3 class. Especially coming off of the 5-7 first season in Austin. Manning’s commitment was like a huge stamp of approval for Sarkisian, and that did resonate with a number of prospects,” Hamilton said. “The timing of Manning’s commitment also fell perfectly in line with the Longhorns big visit weekend in June, which began a run of offensive commitments. The offensive linemen fell like dominoes and the momentum carried over to the staff’s ability to flip an Anthony Hill level prospect on defense.”

For as seriously as Manning is taking his new role, he’s still a kid, as Sarkisian noted. Being a Manning and knowing how to work as a high-level quarterback or understanding the trappings of learning an offense don’t insulate him from being a 17 year old. And of course the lost student IDs came up.

“First of all, he lost his ID twice. Not once, but twice. But the beauty of it is this: He’s a kid. He’s a college kid,” Sarkisian said. “I think, so many times, you see the Manning name and you think he’s this perfect, in a box, like nothing’s wrong with him. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with him, but he’s still a kid. I love that about him.”