Alabama Assistant Reportedly Invoked Steve Sarkisian’s Alcoholism in Effort to Recruit Arch Manning

A grim look at the underbelly of college football recruiting.

The recruiting war over Arch Manning went to some pretty bleak places. / Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

The world of college football recruiting is intense, and sometimes comes with shots as dirty as the worst late tackle you’ll ever see on the field.

In an excerpt from his upcoming book American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback, Seth Wickersham dove into the details of the long recruiting process that ultimately landed Arch Manning at Texas with coach Steve Sarkisian.

According to Wickersham, as Manning’s recruitment came down to the wire, Pete Golding, then Alabama’s defensive coordinator (who now holds the same job at Ole Miss), invoked Sarkisian’s struggles with alcoholism in an attempt to sway him away from the Longhorns while on a call with Manning and his circle of trust. Wickersham explained the moment while speaking with Pablo Torre.

“Pete, who is friends with Sark, says on this call, ‘I love Sark, he’s my best friend.’ And then he’s like oh my god, do I go there? And he did. He goes, ‘I hope he can stay sober,’” Wickersham explained.

After the call, Manning’s high school coach Nelson Stewart called Golding directly, saying "Pete, that's f---ed up!"

Golding knew that it was, but told Stewart, “Daddy’s on me,” referring to Alabama coach Nick Saban.

"Daddy's on me."

Arch Manning's recruitment got so intense that, per @SethWickersham, an Alabama assistant said he "hoped [Steve Sarkisian] can stay sober" on a Zoom call with Arch, Cooper, and Arch's high-school coach.

With "Daddy" being Nick Saban. pic.twitter.com/Y4KwbqYwae

— Pablo Torre Finds Out (@pablofindsout) August 22, 2025

A lot going on there, and somehow, an Alabama assistant referring to his boss as “Daddy” to a fellow football professional is not the worst of it.

Sarkisian has been pretty open regarding his struggle with alcohol, which cost him his job at USC earlier in his career. Speaking with the Joel Klatt Show last year, he explained that he was especially open with players and recruits, and for the exact reason Wickersham described.

“It really wasn't like something that I could hide from. The reality was, this is public knowledge, this is public information, I’m a public figure.” Sarkisian said. "In coaching, there's this thing called negative recruiting. Some coaches love to talk about another school, or another coach. Naturally, other schools and other coaches were going to try to use that against me. So I really became open and honest and vulnerable with the recruits first to talk through my story."

Honesty seems to have been the best policy for Sark in this situation, as he is the one that landed Manning, and is set to have him start for the Longhorns in just a few days.

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