The areas where Steve Sarkisian believes Arch Manning can continue to improve

With thirteen spring practices down and two more to go, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian believes that his team has made considerable strides over the course of drills conducted in March and April. However, he doesn’t want anyone on his team to stop pushing ahead of Thursday’s practice and Saturday’s spring football finale.

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“I think everybody in the organization has a thing, two, three, ten, that we can improve upon,” Sarkisian said Tuesday. “If we can really focus in on those things over the next few days all the way through Saturday morning, I think we’ll be in a lot better place come June when we come back and start our summer program as we get ready for fall camp.”

Sarkisian was asked on Tuesday about how it applies to a specific player: starting quarterback Arch Manning.

The Longhorns head coach identified two specific areas for his signal-caller as he embarks on his first year as QB1 for the Texas football program.

“I think one is, and this is going to sound crazy because I think he’s a great leader, but we continue to push him from a leadership standpoint,” Sarkisian said. “This has been a great spring for Arch because he didn’t get put out there on the field his first spring as the starting quarterback with three vets that know the offense inside and out and are fixing things on the move.”

That’s been a skill Manning has had to put on display for most of spring, especially when expected contributors like wide receivers DeAndre Moore and Ryan Wingo and tight end Jordan Washington saw their availability limited by various bumps and bruises. Manning not only has to help direct traffic for an offensive line that returns one starter in DJ Campbell, but also for a youthful wide receiver corps and a running back room that features one player with multiple years of experience.

“He’s having to really lead, manage, and coach in between plays,” Sarkisian said. “We keep trying to push him at that level because he is a fantastic leader, and he doesn’t need to wait.”

The other thing Sarkisian wants to see Manning improve is decision making when it comes to using his legs. Manning’s tantalizing 67-yard run against UTSA plus other scoring scampers like the one versus Texas A&M revealed what the 6-foot-4, 222-pounder is capable of on the move. Manning rushed 25 times for four touchdowns last year.

That said, Sarkisian is not one for running the quarterback too often dating back to his time at Alabama and even at USC. It’s something he wants Manning to use for “critical moments.”

“The second thing is within the confines of the offense utilizing his athleticism,” Sarkisian said. “Last year, especially in the second half of the season, his athleticism was called upon because we called on those things in specific moments. Now that he’s the starter and now that he’s operating the offense, we don’t want him to leave his athleticism to the side. We want him to use that athleticism in critical moments. Third downs, red area, things of that nature. It’s finding that right balance to do that.”

Even with that being a point of emphasis for Manning in the remaining two practices, it’s a place where he’s found success this spring.

“I thought he did a great job of that this morning,” Sarkisian said. “On a couple of critical third downs, he used his legs to extend a couple of drives, which is going to be a critical component to his game. But really, it’s going to be a key component to our game that people now have to defend us a little bit differently.”

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Manning and the rest of his teammates will have two more opportunities during the Longhorns’ spring drills to continue to improve before a brief break ahead of summer workouts. Then, when preseason camp starts in the middle of the summer, it’ll be time to put those areas of emphasis to the test.