Jordan Rodgers evaluates what has gone wrong for Arch Manning so far

Texas QB Arch Manning hasn’t played as many expected him to over the course of three games to this point. That’s in production and in how he has looked playing quarterback for the Longhorns, with Jordan Rodgers now breaking down some of what’s going wrong for him fundamentally so far this season.

Rodgers, appearing on ‘Get Up’ on Wednesday, shared some tape when discussing what he’s seeing right now in Manning’s game. A lot of it is the first-time starter rushing his process, whether it be escaping his pocket too soon or then during his throwing motion in a way that’s making him less effective.

“Yeah, really two things,” said Rodgers. “I’m seeing, first and foremost, he’s leaving the pocket early and he’s not getting to his second reads very efficiently.”

“Here’s the mechanical issues. Arch is what we call an over-strider with his lower body. When you step too far with your lower body, your back foot actually comes off the ground and you lose a lot of power and momentum with your lower body. Now your upper body and your shoulders have to tilt to try to make up for the lack of velocity. He’s under-throwing balls. The velocity hasn’t been consistent because of that,” Rodgers explained. “There was too many times (against UTEP) when his feet were at let’s say 12 o’clock and he was throwing the ball at 2 or 3 o’clock. In order to make that throw, you have to go side-arm and you lose your lower body, so the accuracy dips, the velocity dips.”

In a way, Rodgers is actually seeing too much Quinn Ewers in Arch Manning, interestingly enough. That’s not to say Ewers was a bad example for Manning as starter and backup the past two years in Austin, but Rodgers thinks Ewers had more arm talent as to where Manning needs to rely on being more fundamentally sound when making passes.

“I think he spent two years watching Quinn Ewers, who could throw it 80 yards in a phone booth, right – didn’t need his platform, could throw it side-arm – and he’s trying to mimic a little bit of that,” added Rodgers.

A lot of it just hasn’t looked right, even if the expectations had been lower to begin with, when it comes to Arch. Manning hasn’t looked whether it be as capable or as comfortable this season as many thought he would be as a third-year player, especially compared to how he looked in ten appearances, to of those being starts, as the backup last season. That has reflected in his numbers for the Longhorns, with him posting just 55.3% completion for 579 yards, at 193 per game, with six touchdowns and three interceptions.

Through a quarter of this season, Rodgers thinks Manning just has to get back to basics, with him having one more non-conference game and then a bye week now to clean some of that up more. Rodgers expects him to do it too as a young, talented quarterback who is more than able to figure this out in time.

“He’s got to get back to being fundamentally sound. That’s when he’s at his best,” said Rodgers. “Arch just has to get back to the fundamentals. He’s absolutely capable of making every one of these throws, when his feet are correct. When his feet are in line, when his hips are in line, he doesn’t have to dip to the side arm. It can be that normal, three-quarter release.”

“He’s going to be just fine, guys. It’s stuff that you see from a young quarterback that hasn’t played a lot of football,” Rodgers said. “You’re right – we hyped him up. We hyped him up and we’re at fault because we expected a perfect product and it’s not yet, and that’s okay. He will get there.”