Steve Sarkisian breaks down signing of Arch Manning

Texas‘ massive signing day was headlined by the signing of top quarterback prospect Arch Manning, the nation’s No. 1 recruit regardless of position according to On3 Consensus. The signing of Manning was years in the making for Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian, as he pulled back the curtain on the process starting with a breakdown of his attributes.

“Signing Arch Manning I think was big on a lot of fronts, one let’s just talk about the player,” Sarkisian said. “I think he’s extremely gifted, he’s got all the attributes needed to be a really good quarterback. He’s 6’4, 225, he’s got a great arm, he’s a good athlete, he’s got really good fundamentals, there’s not a throw he can’t make. He can make the off-platform throws.”

It’s been clear for quite some time that Manning has all of the physical tools to be an elite college quarterback, as Sarkisian spoke on how his recruiting process started before he was even the head coach of the Longhorns.

“He comes from a really good program at Newman, he’s got the desire, the competitiveness, the work ethic needed to be great at the position and it’s been a long haul. I started recruiting him three years ago, almost four now, three and a half years ago. But since the day got here that process continued, so we’ve been recruiting him for two years since I’ve been here and it’s a really credit to Terry Joseph and AJ Milwee and the work they did as well,” Sarkisian said.

It’s no secret that the Manning name holds weight in the world of football, synonymous with Super Bowls and some of the highest level of quarterback the game has seen. But the relationship built with the Manning family and Texas was a seamless one according to Sarkisian.

“And the process was really simple with the family, remove the name off the back of his jersey, the Manning name, they’re great people and they were awesome to work with. They support their son, they support their nephew, they support their grandson, they’re just like any other family that wants what’s best for him,” Sarkisian said. “And I think like all these kids I thought we did a really nice job of developing a really good relationship with them and a really good relationship with Arch. I say it all the time, trust equals time plus consistency, I thought that we were very consistent in the process, we were really transparent in the process with them and in turn they were with us.”

Manning committed to the Longhorns in June of 2022, which came as a surprise to the Longhorns and sent shock waves across the recruiting landscape. Sarkisian believes his commitment had a positive impact on filling out the rest of their signing class, as they finished signing day with the No. 4 recruiting class in the nation according to On3 Consensus, their highest ranking since 2019.

“And when he committed to us was actually a little earlier than maybe we were anticipating in the process in the summer, but we took it, we were excited about it and I think there was a direct impact on the rest of the class,” Sarkisian explained. “I think there was a lot of other players in this class that thought man, if the number one player in the country is going to Texas and believes what they’re doing that that’s a pretty good destination for me too.”

Manning has the traits to be great and the excitement of the Longhorns’ fanbase surrounding him, but only time will tell if he’ll be able to live up to his top recruiting ranking, and an even longer time to see if he can live up to his last name.

“And in the end, he’s a guy that you guys will get to know is not somebody that wants to be out in the forefront all the time, likes to be behind the scenes and go to work and I appreciate that about him. It’s not about his name as I said before, it’s about who he is innately inside and fired up to get him here in a couple of weeks and get to work,” Sarkisian said.