Matt Leinart speculates Arch Manning could be battling injury

At the midpoint in the season, the Texas Longhorns and Arch Manning haven’t quite lived up to expectations. That hasn’t meant that there’s nothing there. However, Manning certainly hasn’t quickly become the best quarterback in the country either.

Those struggles relative to offseason expectations have since led to extensive analysis and speculation. The latest is coming from former quarterback turned analyst Matt Leinart. He recently appeared on Pardon My Take, sharing some thoughts on his play and even speculating that he could be injured.

“I was guilty of it too,” Leinart said. “Just jumping on the bandwagon so fast. It wasn’t his fault. I feel bad because the expectations — again, at the end of the day, you play quarterback. He’s making millions of dollars there. It is what it is. He hasn’t played a lot of football into this year. I think some of us forgot this kid didn’t play at a high level in high school, as far as the competition. We’ve seen those videos, and now he’s going to play in the SEC. By the way, Week 1 is Ohio State. The best defense in the country. Kind of a tough challenge.”

In all of this, Manning hasn’t been terrible statistically. Through six games, he’s completing 63% of his passes for 1,317 yards and 12 touchdowns to five interceptions. He’s also rushed for 194 yards and another five touchdowns. That’s with an offense around him that has also struggled with consistency.

“I like what I saw last week. It’s just gonna take time. This is a kid that’s going to get better week in and week out. I don’t think he’s had a ton of help around him,” Leinart said. “I still believe [Steve Sarkisian] is one of the best. I played for him. He’s one of the best quarterback teachers and developers in our game, and I think Arch will be back next year, better than ever. I really believe that. There’s still a lot in front of them, too. They’re 4-2, right? They have one loss in conference play. I think he’s getting better.”

Earlier in the season, it had been more widely speculated that Arch Manning was injured, largely based on a grimace he sometimes makes. However, Texas has been dismissive of that possibility. At the same time, Leinart brought it up again here.

“I wonder if he’s hurt at all, dealing with anything,” Leinart said. “I think that’s the speculation. It didn’t look right a couple weeks in a row there. Again, I don’t know what’s going on in that locker room, but the kid’s going to be fine. He’s good.”

At the time, Sarkisian was very dismissive of the idea that Manning was injured. He even received some criticism for how he shot those rumors down. Back in September, Sarkisian said, “He doesn’t have any. I don’t know. I’ve never filmed any of you guys when you’re using the restroom. So, I don’t know what faces you make when you’re doing that.”

That was back in September, so a new issue also could have popped up for Manning. At the same time, when Texas released its Wednesday availability report, Manning was not listed on it at all. So, he should be healthy for this weekend’s game against Kentucky.