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Arch Manning injury: Steve Sarkisian details Texas' process in clearing star QB

IMG_0985by: Griffin McVeigh11/02/25griffin_mcveigh
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Arch Manning (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)

Moments after Texas took down Mississippi State, nobody knew if Arch Manning would be available for the Vanderbilt game. It was later revealed that Manning suffered a concussion in overtime, beginning the protocol process. Not much came out of Austin throughout the week either, until Friday night, when his name did not appear on the SEC injury report.

Everyone is happy Manning got to play, putting together his best performance of the season on Saturday. After the win, Steve Sarkisian detailed the entire sequence of getting Manning cleared. Most of it was out of his hands, depending on doctors, Manning, and the quarterback’s family.

“He, really, technically, was cleared Thursday,” Sarkisian said postgame. “But we took one more precaution, just to make sure when he woke up Friday, he was in a good space. We don’t have to put out the availability report out until Friday night. If it was due Friday morning, he would’ve been cleared to go. The protocol is the protocol. There’s no other way around it.

“I don’t mean to be rude about that but it’s not really my choice, it’s not really my decision. It’s if the doctor say he’s good to go, then does the player and his family feel good about it? Arch felt great about it all week but we had to go through the process all week to get him to that point.”

When the SEC injury report was revealed on Wednesday, Manning saw himself listed as questionable. The same can be said for Thursday night. Sarkisian wanted to wait another day to make sure all boxes were checked before giving the thumbs up for Friday.

Then, coming out for warmups, there did not appear to be any kind of restrictions. From there, everything looked pretty good.

Manning completed 25 of his 33 passes on the day, going for 328 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. The Texas offense moved the ball for four quarters, really, for the first time this season. A great extension of what they put together late against Mississippi State.

Now, there is another chance to rest. Texas will take a bye week and watch the rest of college football during Week 11. From there, it’s a sprint to the finish line as three wins are needed. First up will be a trip to Athens, before hosting rivals Arkansas and Texas A&M. Similar performances will be needed from Manning if the Longhorns want to keep the College Football Playoff dream alive.