Steve Sarkisian Gives Honest Opinion of Arch Manning After First Scrimmage

The first scrimmage of fall camp for the Texas Longhorns was a short one for the first-team offense. Or really, star players like quarterback Arch Manning.

When addressing the media following his team’s first of two scrimmages this spring, head coach Steve Sarkisian revealed his quarterback only played a single drive live before being asked to watch from the sidelines for an extended period. They eventually returned in the second half of the scrimmage.

"I felt for Arch [Manning] and Ryan [Wingo] and Cam [Coleman] and Emmett [Mosley] because they played the first series, then they sat because I didn't want them to be live, and then they played one series in the red zone, and then they sat, and then they didn't come back and play until the second half,” Sarkisian said. “So it was a little up and down today."

Right Where He Needs to Be

Sitting so many players this early in camp for the first scrimmage may not be exactly normal without injuries. However, it may just go to show how deeply Sarkisian and Co. truly believe this team is entering the season.

While it can be argued this is a critical time for the offense to build cohesion, especially between Manning and his new-look receiving corps. He will have plenty of reps in non-scrimmage settings to build a rapport with his targets.

Yet on the flip side, not needing to see Manning live is an indication of where the Longhorns believe he is at heading into Year 2 as the starter.

“I thought he's had a great first week and a half of training camp, extremely impressed,” Sarkisian said. “Probably wasn't as fair to him today. I wanted him to almost feel like a preseason NFL game. But on the same token, when we went to thud tempo, and it wasn't live, I wanted to try to get him reps, and those reps didn't come until the second half.”

While the Longhorns fully believe in Manning’s abilities despite all the noise that came with the start of last season, Sarkisian made it clear there is still room for improvement.

“I think he can play cleaner than he played today, and a little bit more efficient, a little bit more accurate,” Sarkisian said. “But there was also some high level plays that were made too. Again, it's the level of consistency that we're fighting for, and I've seen it the first week and a half.”

In his first year as the starter, Manning threw for 3,163 yards and 26 touchdowns with seven interceptions while rushing for another 399 yards and 10 scores.

Albeit a disappointing 10-3 season for the Longhorns last year, Manning’s progression from Game 1 to Game 13 gives all the optimism for what is ahead.

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