Texas Longhorns Not Concerned With Possibility of Arch Manning 'Bust' Season

For two seasons, Arch Manning remained under the wing of former quarterback Quinn Ewers and watched as the Texas Longhorns made two consecutive College Football Playoff appearances, advancing to the semifinals both times.

The redshirt sophomore has seen two starts, and accumulated 969 passing yards, nine touchdowns and a completion of 67.8 percent across his appearances in 12 games.

With loads of media attention, both praising and critical, all eyes prove to be on Manning as Texas kicks off its season in Columbus on Aug. 30 against Ohio State.

Arch Manning Hype

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian speaks with media on Dec. 31, 2024 at press conference in Atlanta, Georgia. | Sara Diggins/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

Sarkisian highlighted the parallels regarding the national perception of Manning as a player to the Longhorns' upcoming season, which he shared in yesterday’s media availability.

“This is going to be a long season, unfortunately, we live in a world (where) there’s not a lot of in between,” Sarkisian said. “And it’s kinda like, where we are as a team, ‘We’re either gonna be national champs or a bust.’ (However) we don’t really think that way (and) I don’t think Arch thinks that way.”

With managing these harsh realities, Sarkisian said the team maintains focus on their process, but clarified that he doesn’t operate with his head in the sand.

Such as the recent release of preseason AP polls, he addressed the rankings with the team because “they’re going to hear and see it either way,” however, their shared understanding is — it doesn’t matter.

He’s solely focused on what they need to do heading into the season to succeed, and the same goes for Manning.

“I think, Arch thinks about ‘What am I doing today to improve, to be the best teammate I can be when the game weeks roll around (and) what am I doing to prepare to put myself in the best position to perform,’” Sarkisian said.

Further, Sarkisian doesn’t believe Manning is concerned with what the media writes or says about him, but rather what his teammates think. However, he doesn’t know the extent of how Manning's handling everything.

“What I know is what I see every day, and he seems good to me… I just know what he’s capable of, so we just gotta keep tightening the screws to make sure he’s performing the way he’s capable of,” Sarkisian said. “As much as the hoopla has happened, we really haven’t gotten into the fire of real games, and dealing with that.”

With the Longhorns’ season just around the corner, the team remains a work in progress, but Sarkisian seems confident in Manning's abilities heading into next Saturday.