Arch Manning Gets Support from Steve Sarkisian After Texas' Upset Loss in Oklahoma Rivalry Game

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian believes starting quarterback Arch Manning is drawing a level of unfair scrutiny based largely on his family pedigree.

"I think that he's processing fine," Sarkisian said Monday, per On3's Nick Schultz. "Again, I think playing really good offensive football is all 11. Playing 11 as one. I think it's scheme, I think it's momentum of the game.

"I think if you took the name off the back of his jersey and you said, 'Here's Joe Smith playing quarterback at the University of Texas and here's a guy who's beaten four Top-10 ranked teams in his last 13 starts,' we'd be praising the guy. But the expectations are high for him. He understands that. The expectations are high for all of us. We've got to put our nose back to the grind and get back to work."

There's undoubtedly a portion of college football fans who judge Manning harshly because of his familial connections and all of the benefits that has afforded him.

But a lot of the criticism toward the fourth-year star simply reflects the fact he's not playing all that well.

Sarkisian's comparison to a hypothetical "Joe Smith" is far too reductive because Manning isn't some random student Texas pulled off the street. Set aside the name and this is still a 5-star high school recruit who received a lot of specialized training before he ever set foot on campus. 

Being the starting quarterback for a program as notable as Texas brings added pressure as well. Just ask Quinn Ewers, another 5-star recruit who preceded Manning as the starter.

Not to mention, the NIL era is a double-edged sword for athletes to some degree. Fans will be even more unforgiving when the team's biggest star is earning seven figures.

Through Texas' first five games, Manning has thrown for 1,122 yards, 10 touchdowns and five interceptions. He had a pair of critical picks in the Longhorns' 27-24 loss to Oklahoma this past weekend.

Texas Longhorns - Oklahoma Sooners Highlights

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Sarkisian will point to the Longhorns' big wins with Manning under center, but Arch isn't the quarterback that was advertised when he first arrived in Austin. Midway through Year 4, the breakthrough still hasn't arrived.

If anything, the longer this continues the more people will set the Manning name aside and stop giving him the benefit of the doubt when projecting his game beyond the college level.