Steve Sarkisian reveals emphasis for Arch Manning coming out of bye week

Texas QB Arch Manning isn’t having the season that many had thought he would as the starter in Austin. That said, coming off his best performance to this point as well as a bye week, Steve Sarkisian thinks the Longhorns have him trending in the right direction going into conference play starting this weekend.

Sarkisian was asked about Manning’s development over the past week or so during his press conference on Monday. He noted that so much of it is continuing what he showed in their last outing, with a lot to like about what he put on tape against Sam Houston State.

“Yeah, I think that, you know, naturally, we want to build on coming out of the Sam Houston game because I thought he did some really good things for us in that game,” said Sarkisian. “You know, his ability to push the ball down the field, his ability to play within rhythm and timing and get to secondary reads, his ability to use his legs, to his advantage and our ability to utilize his legs, I think, are important.”

Again, Manning has been, at best, just good this season. He, in four non-conference games, is completing 61.3% of his throws for 222 yards per game with nine touchdowns and three interceptions, with 30.8 rushing yards per game and five more scores on the ground.

But, albeit against a third-straight opponent from the Group of Five, Manning had his best game yet this fall in a 55-0 blowout of the Bearkats. He went 18-21 (85.7%) for 309 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions, while running for two more scores. It represented his best completion rate, passing yardage, yards per attempt, and touchdown-to-turnover ratio so far in the stats when throwing while also tying for his best in rushing scores. It may have come against a winless, overmatched opponent, but that’s the kind of outing where confidence can be gained and things could click for a still-young quarterback.

As for further improvements made this last week with their bye, Sarkisian did say that they’ve continued to try and get Manning more comfortable getting through his progressions. He’s more than capable of doing it, but it’s just about ensuring he stays in the rhythm of his reads in order to do so.

“You know, I think we’ve got to continue to push the second, third, and fourth reads, you know. I mean, again, we try our best as a coaching staff to get the first read open, and then, when we can’t, we’ve got to have the ability to get through our progression,” said Sarkisian. “I think the progress that he made in that last game is going to be beneficial for him to where – not that he doesn’t know where to go with the football on a second, third, and fourth read. I think he’s well, more than equipped and nobody prepares better than Arch. But he doesn’t have to feel rushed, he’s not late and the timing and rhythm of his drop and the timing and the rhythm of where people are in spots on the field, and trusting that to stay in rhythm for himself, I think, is something that he can take from that game and continue to build upon.”

There was only so much to learn about how Manning is progressing based on who they played the past four weeks. Now, though, we’ll really start to know where he stands, especially based off that last outing, when Texas goes on the road to open conference play in The Swamp on Saturday afternoon.