Michael Taaffe is Hyped Up About Arch Manning Getting 'His Swagger Back'

After a shaky first three weeks, Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning finally seemed to be more confident and more mechanically sound against the Sam Houston State Bearkats on Saturday.

Manning completed 18 of 21 passes for 309 yards and three touchdowns, adding two additional touchdowns on his feet.

The quarterback finally appeared to be playing with more ease, and one of his teammates took the opportunity to address it.

Michael Taaffe on Manning’s “swagger”

Sep 20, 2025; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) warms up before a game against Austin FC at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

Safety Michael Taaffe helped his defense shut out the Bearkats on Saturday, but he also used part of his media availability to address the newfound spark that seemed to be present in his quarterback.

“My guy got his swagger back,” Taaffe said. “Yeah, he got his swagger back. You can tell he knew it was in there. We all knew it was in there. When Coach Akina came in in the spring, he met with me and said, ‘I love game planning against the offense in the spring, but we’ve got to really game plan this quarterback, he’s the real deal.’ An outsider can walk in and see how good Arch is, but he just had to take that step. I’m so proud of him. It’s really cool to see somebody that’s going through something, that really hasn’t been through something in life, get his swagger back and do nothing but congratulate his teammates.”

Taaffe and Manning both serve as leaders within this program, and the two frequently represent Texas in the media. While navigating the press likely proved to be less excruciating after this week’s matchup, last week’s press conference took on a different format.

Following Manning’s subpar performance against the Miners, Taaffe joined him in a media availability and revealed some of the advice he’s given the quarterback. It largely boiled down to putting things in perspective when it comes to football, advice that Manning could’ve used to play more freely in his last matchup before conference play.

Texas now shifts its attention towards SEC opponents, starting with the Florida Gators on the road on Oct. 4. The Gators are coming off two tough losses against LSU and Miami, but their home-field advantage is one that cannot be ignored.

Manning will have to take the “swagger” with which he approached Saturday’s game and build upon it to help lead his team into this next phase of their season. As the strength of opponents increases, there won’t be room for him to falter.