Arch Manning on being more comfortable vs. Vanderbilt: 'Maybe the concussion helped'

Saturday likely served as the best Arch Manning performance of the season, by quite a mile. Manning looked comfortable in the pocket against Vanderbilt, getting good protection up front. As a result, Texas was able to push the ball downfield when needed and put up 34 points on a top-10 opponent.

All of this is after Manning spent nearly a week in concussion protocol. Clearance finally came through on Friday, making him available for the game. In fact, Manning even said that his play might have been improved because of the concussion.

“I felt good the whole time,” Manning said. “Had to get through [concussion protocol]. Started practicing, I think, Wednesday. So, felt good sense and feels good to get a W… I think the concussion helped.”

Manning was joking but the stats are tough to ignore. He put together an incredibly efficient afternoon, completing all but eight of his 33 pass attempts for 328 yards and three touchdowns. In a year where the Texas offense has looked lost at times, this one was the Longhorns desperately needed heading into the bye week.

Still, they did not know if their starting quarterback would be available. Steve Sarkisian explained the process of Manning going through concussion protocol, saying the decision was out of his hands. Doctors, Manning, and his family were the ones ultimately making the call.

“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.”

Matthew Caldwell would have gotten a call from the bullpen if Manning did not get cleared in time. Everyone on the 40 Acres is thankful he did — for health and performance reasons. Texas now gets a week off before facing another tough opponent, the Georgia Bulldogs.