Texas Longhorns' Steve Sarkisian Preaches Patience With Arch Manning

The expectations for Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning are sky-high as he takes over the starting job, and understandably so given his family legacy and outstanding recruiting profile.

With those sky-high expectations also comes a ton of pressure, however, both from fans and the media at large.

When discussing the pressure on his new quarterback, Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian advocated for a bit of a grace period as he adjusts to being a full-time starter.

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian observes quarterback Arch Manning warming up before a game. | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

“In the end, I think he understands he is not riding the emotional roller coaster of the opinions of others and staying [with a] level of consistency in his approach, in his play, in his ability to pick people up," Sarkisian told ESPN's Pete Thamel. "Easier said than done when you’re not in the real fire of it all.

“… He’s learning. Yeah, there’s probably going to be some grace needed. Unfortunately, it’s probably not going to be grace granted outside of our building. Inside of our building, sure, there will be, but outside of the building, the pundits are going to be the pundits, the fans are going to be the fans, the opposing fans are going to be the fans. But inside our building, I think the support that he’s going to get is going to be one that he’ll definitely appreciate.”

Fair or not, Sarkisian is probably right that most outside of Austin won't afford Manning much grace. Opening the season with a road game against the defending-champion Ohio State Buckeyes will undoubtedly be tough for the young quarterback as well.

The silver lining to that is that this isn't exactly Manning's first starting experience. He started two games in place of an injured Quinn Ewers last season, so he won't be completely thrown to the wolves in August.

“I think one, the exposure he got last season was helpful," Sarkisian said. "He got two career starts. He started as our quarterback in the first SEC game in the history of the school. And those were not all perfect. Granted, there were some great moments. He threw nine touchdowns and almost a thousand yards. There was a couple of bad picks in there too."

The Longhorns have national championship ambitions once again this season, so they will need Manning to live up to the hype to get where they want. Maybe it will take some time to get there, but by the end of the season, Manning will have to be the best version of himself.