Arch Manning Gets 'Greedy In First Start, Still Has A Long Way to Go

Texas Longhorns freshman QB Arch Manning had an up and down night in his first start.

Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) throws a pass in the first half of the Texas Longhorns' game against the ULM Warhawks at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Sept. 21, 2024. / Sara Diggins/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

AUSTIN - Saturday night began as the Arch Manning show for the Texas Longhorns.

The redshirt freshman was making his long anticipated first start, and the eyes of the nation were upon him.

And while many thought he would blow the doors off of the overmatched ULM Warhawks, instead it ended up being a learning experience, and it appears that it is not time for 'Arch Mania' just yet.

That's not to say that Manning did not have a great night. He hit plenty of big plays down the field, doing his part to break the game wide open, on his way to helping guide the Horns to a 51-3 blowout win.

However, he also got - as Steve Sarkisian described - greedy, choosing to go for a big play, rather than making a safer throw or a simpler decision that could have resulted in positive yards.

To be fair, those types of things come with experience - something Manning is lacking at this point in his career. But that will come in time, and Saturday night was a great learning experience for him.

"Learning lessons, right? To think he was going to come out and play a perfect game, I don't think anybody in here thought that," Sarkisian said. "He was going to have some lessons learned and I think that's what tonight was about."

For the night, Manning finished 15 of 29 for 258 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

And on each mistake, a simpler or safer decision would have made all the difference.

The first interception came at midfield on the Longhorns very first drive, forcing a ball when he was under pressure, resulting in a negative play that, against a more talented opponent, could have put his team in a very bad spot.

Arch Manning throws his first career interception on the opening drive of the game. pic.twitter.com/2wXd8q4HcK

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 22, 2024

But thanks to the Texas defense, the mistake was nullified.

The second mistake came on a pass that was just out of the reach of running back Jaydon Blue, and once again came deep in prime field position of the Warhawks. That pick eventually led to the only ULM score of the game.

But, to Manning's credit, he was never phased by those mistakes. Instead, he would go on to help lead the Horns to touchdowns on both ensuing possessions after the turnovers.

That is something that most freshmen might have issues with. But Manning is not a normal freshman and has come a long way in the last 12 months.

“I don’t think the Arch we saw today in dealing with some of those negative plays is the same we saw a year ago,” Sarkisian said.

So was it the perfect performance that many predicted from Manning coming in? No far from it. In fact, it was not too dissimilar from Quinn Ewers' first career start, which came against this very same ULM Warhawks in 2022.

And that is ok, because he has never been expected by the coaching staff to come in and be Ewers.

After all, Ewers is the true starter for a reason.

That said, being a Manning, the young freshman is certain to learn from these mistakes and make adjustments heading into next week, should his name be called again in relief of a still-recovering Ewers.

Either way, let's be clear - it's not time for 'Arch Mania' just yet.