The Arch Manning era for Texas football is approaching with all the subtlety of an oversized aircraft carrier docking in an unoccupied harbor.
The exploits of the 6-foot-4, 225-pound gunslinger from one of football’s First Families are going to fuel countless hours of sports talk television and fill column inches from coast to coast. Whether he plays well or poorly, Arch Madness is coming.
So how is Manning preparing?
When he met with reporters last week for the first time since the conclusion of the 2024 season, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian praised his new starting signal caller for the way he’s approached the offseason.
“I just continue to see a guy who has taken it and is trying to really go for it,” Sarkisian said. “He just doesn’t want to leave any stone unturned. He’s working at his craft. He’s working so hard in the offseason conditioning runs. He’s now setting up those voluntary throwing sessions with the receivers during the week or on the weekend. He’s breaking the team down, doing all those natural things that a quarterback has to do to instill belief in his teammates, to instill belief in the staff.”
Most of Sarkisian’s evaluation of Manning’s offseason so far centered around his intangible traits.
The humility Manning demonstrated while backing up Quinn Ewers for two seasons showed a commitment to his teammates that Sarkisian believes has made Manning’s ascent into the top spot of the depth chart ‒ and, by extension, a key leadership role in the locker room ‒ easier.
“If you didn’t know his last name, and you didn’t know the face and you just looked at the body of work and the teammate that he is, the work ethic that he has, his commitment to his craft, his commitment to his teammates, this process has been underway now for a couple of years,” Sarkisian said.
As part of his preparation for Manning to start when the Longhorns open their season on Aug. 30 against defending champion Ohio State, Sarkisian wants to instill an understanding that things are unlikely to go perfectly.
The way Sarkisian explained it, Manning can’t go out and throw a touchdown on every pass that he uncorks.
“That’s not a reality,” Sarkisian said. “He’s going to hear the murmurs of the crowd, and that’s part of it too.”
What Arch Manning showed his freshman season
Though Manning never faced much game pressure in his 233 snaps of game action — almost all of which came against overmatched opposition — he did demonstrate an ability to bounce back from mistakes.
Manning threw an interception during his first drive of his first career start against Louisiana-Monroe, then responded by leading a seven-play, 77-yard touchdown drive. Manning’s second turnover in the second quarter preempted another long touchdown drive when the Longhorns got the ball back.
More trails await Manning when he lines up under center this fall. He’ll step into the next phase of preparation when the Longhorns begin their spring practices on March 25.
“He’s doing it, but more importantly for him, which I love, he’s having fun doing it,” Sarkisian said. “And it doesn’t feel like he’s working. He’s playing the game of football. He’s being a great teammate. There’s going to be bumps in the road. … In the end, I think he’s enjoying the process of it, and he loves his teammates, and I’m really proud of him up to this point. We got a long way to go.”