What will be different about the Texas offense with Arch Manning? Steve Sarkisian explains
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The Texas Longhorns offense is going to look a little bit different with Arch Manning under center, according to head coach Steve Sarkisian.
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Sarkisian, appearing Thursday on the Up and Adams Show with Kay Adams, was asked what Manning brings to the table that’s different than what Quinn Ewers provided during his three seasons in burnt orange.
“He gives us a little bit more versatility,” Sarkisian said of Manning. “Everybody’s in the zone-read world right now. We always try to adapt to our players. I’m watching the NFL, and the NFL is evolving right now, too. You see what Jayden Daniels did. You saw what Jalen Hurts did winning the Super Bowl. You see Lamar (Jackson) and what they’re doing. You see what Josh Allen is doing.
“People are incorporating the quarterback more and more now but still keeping some of the traditional NFL style offense with it. We’re forever evolving, but he does give us a lot of versatility to what we do offensively.”
In 2024, Ewers was credited with 57 rushes for -82 yards and two scores. According to Pro Football Focus, he was sacked 33 times. Ewers scrambled, or rushed on an undesigned run, 19 times. While the yardage gained on those five runs isn’t clear, the low number of carries speaks volumes.
Meanwhile, Manning had 25 carries for 108 yards and four touchdowns, with 67 of them coming on a zone-read keeper for a touchdown versus UTSA. PFF said Manning was sacked seven times and had four scrambles. That gives him 14 designed runs, almost three times what Ewers produced in 700 fewer snaps.
That type of running ability and athleticism allows Manning and Sarkisian to deploy a distinctive style of play from the quarterback position. That athleticism is in stark contrast to the comparative lack of athleticism (and other characteristics) to Manning’s famous uncles, Peyton and Eli.
“Got way more swag than his uncles,” Sarkisian said. “He’s got the athleticism of his grandpa.”
Manning now has the expectations of being the Longhorns starter on his shoulders, as Adams was able to get Sarkisian to admit Manning was unsurprisingly going to be Texas’ starting signal-caller in 2024. For Sarkisian, those are expectations he believes Manning is ready to take on as the face of his program, if not the face of college football.
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“One of the things a quarterback has to do, and I think it goes unnoticed at times, is a quarterback’s real job is to instill belief in his teammates, instill belief in the coaches, instill belief in the organization, and then instill belief in the fan base,” Sarkisian said. “Arch does all those things. Here he is. It’s not because of the name, but who he is on a regular basis.”
Despite the famous last name, Sarkisian said recruiting Manning into his program didn’t bring with it extra concerns or difficulties to be reasonably expected when competing with Texas and Georgia for a member of America’s most famous football family.
“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, and 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 have thought he was just another 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?”
Texas won’t be able to display Manning in the spring game like they did in April of 2024, when he was 19-for-25 for 355 yards and three touchdowns. Sarkisian announced Thursday on Adams’ show there will not be a formal spring game, instead opting for something akin to NFL organized team activities.
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However, Manning will be the starter and take first-string reps throughout the Longhorns’ 15 spring practices and will lead an offense that looks a little bit different into Columbus on August 30 when he’s the Texas starter against the Ohio State Buckeyes.