Steve Sarkisian Says Texas Longhorns QB Arch Manning Was 'Tremendous' During Recent Scrimmage

Texas quarterback Arch Manning is expected to be the next quarterback for the Longhorns once Quinn Ewers departs for the NFL, and clearly he is impressing the head coach in year two.

Dec 2, 2023; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) in action during the / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The noise and expectations around Arch Manning as a freshman last spring were astronomical for someone who realistically should have been finishing his senior year of high school.

He was "expected" to fly past Maalik Murphy who was next in line for the starting role, and many fans thought that he would snatch the starting job away from Quinn Ewers. Neither of these things happened, as Murphy was the star of the spring game last year, and Ewers went on to lead the team to a Big 12 title and College Football Playoff appearance. However, Murphy is now the quarterback at Duke, and Ewers is expected to be off to the NFL after the 2024 season, which means it'll be Manning's team in 2025.

With a full year under his belt, Manning has made major strides and has been drawing a ton of praise from head coach Steve Sarkisian.

Dec 2, 2023; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) in action during the / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

When talking to the media on Tuesday, Sarkisian offered up some praise of Manning from their recent weekend scrimmage, going as far as to say he was "terrific". Manning was also clearly able to build off his weekend success and carry it over to practice on Tuesday, in what Sarkisian deemed was his best practice.

"I thought he did a really good job of stepping up in the pocket, keeping his eyes down the field, and delivering the ball under some duress very accurately," Sarkisian told the media on Tuesday.

During this Saturday's spring game, fans of Texas and college football in general will have their first real look at Manning in a much larger role than what we saw last season. He has a chance to make a statement, while also giving Longhorns fans optimism for years to come.