Longhorns Country

Where Does Texas QB Arch Manning Get His Swagger From?

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian had some swagger back in the day and may have passed it down to his quarterback Arch Manning, who is finding his groove.
DJ Burton|
Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) runs in for a touchdown past Sam Houston Bearkats linebacker Antivirus Fish (6) during the first half at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) runs in for a touchdown past Sam Houston Bearkats linebacker Antivirus Fish (6) during the first half at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

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Texas Longhorns

Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning was put on a pedestal all offseason. He was touted as one of the best quarterbacks in college football and even was the preseason Heisman Trophy favorite, but quickly had a fall from grace following a slow start to the season.

Among his struggles, Manning had faced boos from his home crowd after throwing 10 straight incompletions against the UTEP Miners, and was quickly picked up by coach Steve Sarkisian, who told Manning that he is officially a quarterback.

“I’ve got to play better,” Manning said after the UTEP game. “I’m just frustrated. I know I’m better than this. It’s going to be hard to sleep tonight.”

Against the Sam Houston State Bearkats, Manning seemed like the quarterback he was projected to be ahead of the season. On one of his rushing touchdowns, Manning got in a defender’s face and exchanged some words that drew attention from the referee, officially showing he got his swagger back. The newfound fire was reminiscent of coach Steve Sarkisian’s quarterback days at BYU.

The Steve Sarkisian Swagger

BYU Cougars quarterback Steve Sarkisian
BYU Cougars quarterback Steve Sarkisian (12) looks to throw against the Texas A&M Aggies at LaVell Edwards Stadium. | Peter Brouillet-Imagn Images

Sarkisian spent two years as the passer for the Brigham Young University Cougars from 1995 and 1996. In his two seasons, he recorded over 7,000 passing yards, 53 touchdowns and 26 interceptions and led the Western Athletic Conference in multiple categories.

On Sarkisian’s last pass of his college career, threw an imaginary lasso towards the Kansas State sideline in celebration, garnering an unsportsmanlike penalty from the referees.

"I always say this about Arch, there's a lot more personality in there than sometimes everyone gets to see," Sarkisian said. "I always feel like he's a little bit at his best when that emotion kind of comes out some. I think there was a lot built up in there, obviously, from last week that he needed to get out. But inevitably, I think the guys feed off of that for him, and it's one of his strengths."

It was not surprising that Manning played with a ton of emotion in what served as somewhat of a resurgence after his disappointing start to the season. In the Longhorns’ blowout victory, Manning completed 19 of his 21 passing attempts for 309 yards and three touchdowns. On top of his elite aerial performance, he recorded two rushing touchdowns. 

"Probably a little much there," Manning said of the stare down. "My mom was pretty mad about that. A little immature, but I think it's some built up frustration those past few weeks."

Manning has to be sleeping pretty well following his performance and will look to build on his success through the upcoming bye week.

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DJ Burton
DJ BURTON

DJ Burton is a journalist from Kingwood, Texas. He is a credentialed writer for Texas A&M Aggies On SI. He graduated from Texas A&M with a journalism major and a sport management minor. Before attending A&M, Burton played offensive line for two seasons at Hiram College in northeast Ohio, where he studied sport management. Burton brings experience covering football, baseball, softball, men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball. He also served as a senior sports writer for A&M’s student newspaper, The Battalion.

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