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Steve Sarkisian Speaks to Arch Manning's Growth in One Area

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Grant Bricker | Last updated Jun 27, 2025 9:00 PM ET

Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning is set to finally have a chance to be the full-time starter in 2025.

On a recent episode of "Always College Football," head coach Steve Sarkisian broke down one of the ways Manning has improved since coming to Austin.

Sarkisian had high praise for Manning's growth as a good teammate in the two years he has spent at Texas.

The Texas gunslinger played in 10 games for the Longhorns last season, with two starts. In the two starts, he led Texas to wins over UL Monroe and the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

Now that Quinn Ewers is in the NFL, the door is open for Manning to run the offense.

"I give him a lot of credit because all he did was come to work and be a great teammate," Sarkisian said. "If you didn't know the name on the back of his jersey, you'd say, 'Man, what a great teammate this guy is.'"

Manning saw the field due to an oblique injury suffered by Ewers in Week 2 against the Michigan Wolverines. Ewers exited the UTSA game and Manning stepped in and delivered a superb outing.

He finished the game with 223 passing yards, five total touchdowns and 53 rushing yards.

Sarkisian is not the only one with praise for the Texas quarterback. Longhorns' five-star quarterback commit Dia Bell praised Manning's mental toughness and ability to block outside noise.

While he is a topic of conversation, Manning's name was not mentioned in Michael Bratton's SEC Heisman sleeper list. Bratton named players in the conference who were not quarterbacks as sleepers.

The Texas representative was running back Tre Wisner.

Manning and Texas open the year against the Ohio State Buckeyes on August 30.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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