Former Alabama Coach Used Steve Sarkisian's Battle With Alcoholism Against Texas to Recruit Arch Manning

Before Arch Manning was the most popular backup in college football, turned starter for the Texas Longhorns in 2025, he was one of the most highly sought-after recruits in the 2023 class.

The nation's No. 1 recruit, who is the nephew of NFL legends Peyton and Eli Manning, had just about every prog ram in the country after him. However, unlike the modern era of recruiting, where everything is posted to social media and extremely public, the youngest Manning's recruitment was a mystery throughout.

In a recent interview with Pablo Torre, ESPN's Seth Wickersham revealed just how difficult of a read Manning's recruitment was, and also revealed some of the lengths coaches would go to in order to persuade or dissuade Manning.

Pete Golding Used Steve Sarkisian's Battle With Alcoholism Against Him in Arch Manning's Recruitment

While recruitng on the outside looking in is predicated on players getting team-issued gear, taking pictures with props, and developing relationships, there is a dark side that is seldom discussed. Known as "negative recruiting," coaches will do everything in the book to convince a recruit that another program or coach isn't ri ght for them.

As revealed by Wickersham, then Alabama defensive coordinator and current Ole Miss coordinator Pete Golding attempted to prevent Manning from going to Texas by bringing up head coach Steve Sarkisian's previous battle with alcoholism, which cost him his job at USC.

"It got so tight that Pete Golding was on a call with Arch, Cooper and Nelson Stewart, a zoom," Wickersham said. "And you know people know that Steve Sarkisian the coach of the University of Texas, has battled alcoholism. It's public record. It almost cost him his career...He managed to find a way through it and he's built a terrific career.

"And stuff like that ends up being fair game," Wickersham said. "And so Pete, who's friends with Sark says on this call, he says 'I love Sark. He's my best friend.' And then he's like oh my god do I go there? And he did. He goes 'You know I hope he can stay sober.'"

Steve Sarkisian's Doesn't Hide From His Past