Arch Manning Praises Texas Longhorns QBs Coach at SEC Media Days

Texas Longhorns quarterback coach AJ Milwee has been with head coach Steve Sarkisian since he started his tenure with the Longhorns in 2021. Until this past offseason, Milwee only worked with one starting quarterback in his time on the Forty Acres, Quinn Ewers.

Now, Milwee has been working with Texas' new starting quarterback, Arch Manning, an experience Manning commented on during SEC Media Days in Atlanta on Tuesday.

"Milwee, that's my guy," Manning told reporters. "He's hard on us, but he's a great coach and he doesn't give out a lot of compliments, but he keeps it real with us... he pushes us every day. I'm thankful for him."

Milwee's Impact at Texas

Milwee spent a pair of seasons on the Alabama coaching staff at the same time Sarkisian was on the team as the Crimson Tide's offensive coordinator. At the time, Milwee worked as an analyst with Alabama, serving on the team that won the 2020 national championship, according to Texas Athletics.

Like Manning, Sarkisian had some high praise for Milwee when asked about him during his press conference.

"There's nobody I work closer with on a daily basis than AJ Milwee from the development of game plans, to the scripting of practice, to talking about play calls during the game, to recruitment of players," Sarkisian said. "I think he forges a great relationship with all the guys in that room. And there's not a day or a moment in the day where I don't feel very comfortable if I can't do something that AJ Milwee we can handle it and handle it at a really high level. So we're very fortunate to have him."

Milwee would later follow Sarkisian to the Forty Acres, working with Quinn Ewers at quarterback. In his first season, Ewers impressed, passing for 2,177 yards, 15 touchdowns, and six interceptions. In that freshman season on the Forty Acres, Ewers recorded the third-most passing yards by a freshman in Texas history and fifth-most touchdowns according to Texas Athletics. The former Texas starter would see gradual improvements under center, increasing his passing yards in 2023 to 3,479 yards with 22 passing touchdowns.

In his final year, before heading to the NFL and joining the Miami Dolphins, Ewers continued to increase his offensive production. The 2024 season saw Ewers set a career high in touchdowns, throwing 31 as a junior.

Now, Milwee hopes to bring out the same potential in Arch Manning as the new full-time starter gets set to take the field in 2025.

Milwee was a quarterback himself, attending the University of North Alabama from 2006-08. While the quarterback, Milwee, went 33-5 and was awarded honorable mention All-America in his senior season, and was eventually included on the Northern Alabama All-Decade team.

Manning showed a glimpse of his capabilities last season in a few appearances, including a pair of starts in the absence of an injured Ewers. At the end of the season, Manning had 939 passing yards and nine touchdowns on 90 attempts.

Manning will have his first opportunity to showcase the progress he's made with Milwee in Texas' Week 1 matchup against the defending national champion Ohio State Buckeyes on Aug. 30.