Steve Sarkisian praises professionalism of Arch Manning throughout first two years at Texas

Arch Manning isn’t a professional yet, but he acts like one. In an interview with ESPN’s Greg McElroy, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian praised Manning’s professionalism.

“I give him a lot of credit because all he did was come to work and be a great teammate,” Sarkisian said. “If you didn’t know the name on the back of his jersey, you’d say, ‘Man, what a great this guy is, for Quinn, for the other guys on the team, the guys in his class.’

“He worked really hard. I think naturally, going into Year 2, he wanted to play more than he played, but he knew his role on that team and when his number was called, man, he did really good things for us and he competed his tail off.”

Despite being the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2023 recruiting cycle, Manning served as Quinn Ewers‘ backup for two seasons at Texas. Manning never complained publicly about his role, and always took advantage of any opportunities he was given.

Support from Manning particularly picked up after he had an excellent two starts in the 2024 campaign after Ewers was sidelined with an injury. In the two games, Manning completed 41-of-his-60 pass attempts for 583 yards and four touchdowns while only throwing two interceptions. He also recorded 29 rushing yards and a touchdown.

Some fans wanted Manning to continue to start even after Ewers returned, but Sarkisian ultimately stuck by the latter’s side. While Arch Manning might not have seen as much action as he would’ve liked in his first two years at Texas, Sarkisian believes the experience was for the best.

“I don’t think that I could have predicted a better way for this to go for him to where he’s grown exponentially, not only on the football field, but but as a leader, as a person,” Sarkisian said. “He’s ready to play now and play at a high level, and we don’t have to go through as many growing pains. Sure, there’s going to be some, but we don’t have to go through as many because of the exposure that he got.

“He’s earned the respect of his teammates. They know he’s not playing because of the name on the back of his jersey. He’s going to be our starting quarterback because he’s earned it and that he’s ready to play. You could feel it in spring, but you definitely can feel it this summer right now. This is his team, and he’s got the respect of his teammates.”