Texas' Steve Sarkisian Talks Arch Manning's Development, Compares QB to Peyton, Eli

While Quinn Ewers will be the starting quarterback for Texas this season, the Longhorns have a talented quarterback on the bench waiting for his moment.

Ahead of the 2024 season, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian spoke highly of sophomore Arch Manning. Sarkisian emphasized that Manning has developed well, but still needs in-game reps.

"I think behind the scenes, the development Arch has had from Year 1 to Year 2 has been tremendous as well," Sarkisian said on the Rich Eisen Show on Monday. "For us, hopefully Arch is going to get plenty of playing time, that means we're probably playing pretty good, and he's going to get plenty of opportunities to get out there. We need to play him, we need to get him in games. The limited action he got last year, he did a nice job."

Manning's uncles, Peyton and Eli, weren't exactly known for their ability to make plays on the ground. Sarkisian said Manning is different.

"He's really developed physically. He's a really well-put-together guy," Sarkisian said. "He can run, he's extremely athletic. Probably more athletic than his uncles, maybe a little bit more like his grandpa. I'm sure I'll hear about that from Peyton and Eli."

Coming into Texas as a 5-star recruit, sitting on the bench over his first two years likely wasn't ideal for Manning, but Sarkisian discussed how Manning has trusted the process, comparing the situation to that of Peyton and Eli's at Tennessee and Ole Miss, respectively.

"I think they understand the process," Sarkisian said on the Dan Patrick Show. "We're in this world of instant gratification, whether it's social media or the 5-star recruit comes in and starts right away. But if you really look back at the history of Eli and Peyton, they didn't start their freshman year. It took time as they developed, because I think the one thing the Manning's understand is when it's your time to play they want to play really well. They don't want to be learning on the job. We've got a pretty good history and tradition of developing quarterbacks over the past 20 or so years, going all the way back to Carson Palmer and all the guys that we coached. I think we've seen an immense amount of development in Arch. We feel very comfortable if and or when he gets in the game that he's going to play good football for us."

Manning saw limited action in his first year at Texas but completed two of his five passes for 30 yards in a matchup against Texas Tech. Sarkisian and Manning both are likely hoping this year's schedule will include several blowout wins that would allow him to come in and get comfortable and continue to develop.

The Longhorns kick off their season on Aug. 31 with a matchup against Colorado State.