Steve Sarkisian reveals how long Texas held Arch Manning trick play in playbook

The Texas Longhorns had one of their best offensive days of the season on Saturday, putting up 52 points in a win over Arkansas. In the process, head coach Steve Sarkisian was able to dive deep into his bag of tricks, pulling out a trick play for quarterback Arch Manning to catch a touchdown pass.

The play was a variation of the Philly Special. With Ryan Wingo in motion, Manning handed it to him for a jet sweep, but Wingo pitched back to Parker Livingstone for a reverse. Meanwhile, Manning slipped out uncovered into the endzone, making a jumping touchdown catch from Livingstone.

ARCH MANNING CATCHES A REVERSE PASS FOR SIX 🚨👀@TexasFootball x 📺 ABC pic.twitter.com/PflO6K4gck

— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) November 22, 2025

Sarkisian opened up about the play after the game, explaining that he had the play designed for a few weeks. However, he needed the right moment to break it out. A one-score game, inside the five-yard line, turned out to be that right opportunity.

“We’ve been holding on to it for a few weeks now,” Steve Sarkisian said. “It just didn’t arise at the right time. And, you know, Parker’s got a little baseball background in there, and so it took a little time of him throwing it on the run. You don’t throw on the run all the time in baseball, and that was a heck of a catch by Arch. I think I told Parker, you owe him one because he just bailed you out. So, you’ve got to bail him out somewhere in here, too. So those guys are great friends, obviously, and so it’s a lot of fun for them to have that connection.”

Arch Manning would go on to have a phenomenal game for Arkansas. Completing 18 of 30 passes for 389 yards and four touchdowns, he also added the receiving touchdown to go along with a rushing touchdown. That made him, according to Steve Sarkisian, the first player Texas has had to throw a touchdown, catch a touchdown, and rush for a touchdown in one game.

Part of what makes Manning unique as a quarterback is his athleticism. That’s also part of what makes him so exciting for Sarkisian as a play caller and a play designer. That’s adapted as the season has gone on, but it’s always fun.

“It was pretty fun. You know, when he caught the touchdown, I turned around and Vince Young was high-fiving me, and he said, ‘Man, I wish I would have had that play when I was going.’ I said, ‘Shoot, I’d call more stuff for you if you were out there.’ So, you try to play to guys’ strengths and he’s obviously a very athletic guy, and we’ve used his legs plenty this year,” Sarkisian said.

“And now the confidence in him throwing it down the field and the rapport with receivers, we’ve leaned more into that aspect of it. But he gives us a lot of options, and he provides different things. The fact that I’m calling quarterback power from the five-yard line to score a touchdown is something that we haven’t had the luxury of doing here for the past few years. He’s got a lot of attributes that we can tap into, and so the versatility of his is a bonus for us.”

Now sitting at 8-3, the Texas Longhorns are going into this week trying to play spoiler against Texas A&M. A win there could even cement their own resume to make the College Football Playoff. To do that, Manning will need his A-game once again.