Tim Tebow, Roman Harper break down what they want to see from Arch Manning against Florida

Arch Manning has taken some time to get going this season, and has done so quietly as the Longhorns didn’t play a power opponent in the month of September. However, with the calendar turning to October this week, he’ll have to be ready starting tomorrow with his first road start in conference play for No. 9 Texas against Florida in the Swamp.

Tim Tebow and Roman Harper broke down Manning’s play while on ‘The Paul Finebaum Show’ on Friday in Gainesville. Tebow saw this as a big moment for the Longhorns’ quarterback, namely with how his opener went in a similar situation against Ohio State.

“It’s absolutely a moment. And I think it’s kind of easy to jump on that bandwagon that he didn’t perform his best against Ohio State, but that’s one of the best defenses in the country,” Tebow said. “I think they’re going to do that to people the entire year. Matt Patricia? He’s bringing in so many schemes, but then it’s also in third down, when they’re in third and long, because they couldn’t run the ball great in that game. That’s a tough situation.

“I have seen him improve every single game, and this last game – given it, you know, wasn’t against great competition – but he played his best and I think you’ll continue to see him improve. But he’s also going up against a Gator defense that’s playing at a really high level and not getting the praise that they deserve because of the record.”

For Harper, though, it’s less about Manning than it is Texas’ offense as a whole. Manning is a massive part of that as the quarterback, but he wants to see the Longhorns’ unit be better operationally in some key aspects of the game.

“For me, with Texas? You know, it’s easy to pile on Arch Manning. He’s the guy that everybody talked about, including yourself,” Harper said. “You crowned him as the greatest thing the SEC has had since Tim Tebow, so it’s a lot of pressure that goes on this young man. But, honestly, it’s been about the situations that Texas has not handled. They haven’t been good on third down. They’re not converting on fourth downs when they go for it, which they go for it a lot. They haven’t scored a lot in the red zone as far as touchdowns. So, the situations for Texas have not been up to par.”

Whether from one or both of Manning and Florida’s DJ Lagway, Tebow wants some confident quarterback play tomorrow afternoon. A lot has been on these highly-touted prospects at the position, with neither having played well or had their team be fully what many thought they’d be. That’s why Tebow thinks this matchup comes down to whichever quarterback plays more freely against their opposing defense in a primetime moment.

“For both of these quarterbacks, the weight that is on them? It’s a lot of pressure. Pressure is a real thing. You can absolutely feel it as a quarterback when you’re in it,” Tebow said. “When you can play free and play with confidence? Man, you’re a different player. But, when you play with the weight of the world on you? It’s hard to have joy.

“I think, for both of them, who can actually have the confidence and find the freedom in their game plan and their offense, with their coaching staff? You can just out there and play for the love of the game, and have fun again. And I think that is something that, most of the time, people don’t talk about because people don’t really also know what it’s like to be in that moment where you feel like everything is riding on how we perform in these three hours, and that’s a lot. When you’re walking into a stadium, and you know the majority of the country is either going to praise you or criticize you? That’s a different level.”

Tomorrow will be college football’s reintroduction to Manning in his biggest game since that opener in which he struggled. So, it’s a question of how much better he will or won’t look in front of everyone again when he leads Texas into The Swamp to open league play for them in the SEC.