There’s a clear fix that the Texas Longhorn offense will need in order to help figure out early season Arch Manning struggles 

It has been an underwhelming beginning to the season for Texas quarterback Arch Manning. Projected as the Heisman Trophy favorite going into the year, it has mostly been underwhelming moments from the redshirt sophomore so far. Through three games, Manning has thrown for 579 yards and nine touchdowns, while completing just 55.3 percent of his passes and throwing three interceptions. These early-season struggles have only been magnified based on his family lineage.

The Longhorns head into an important stretch of their schedule, including matchups with the Florida Gators and Oklahoma Sooners in a couple of weeks. With the struggles for the 6-4, 220-pound passer, head coach Steve Sarkisian and his Texas staff would be wise to try and improve the supporting cast around him. That includes the run game most of all, which has had its own issues thus far. It was viewed as another potential strength going into the season.

Arch Manning's best friend

During those first three games, Texas is averaging 182.3 yards per game on the ground, but they haven't been an overly efficient group, averaging just 4.4 yards per carry on the year. If you take away the rushing yards that Manning has accounted for, Longhorn running backs have averaged just 145 yards per game on the ground. That is a problem, especially with how much talent is in that room.

Heading into the season, many expected the running back duo of Tre Wisner and CJ Baxter to be one of the best in the country. Wisner has been limited to one game so far, while Baxter looks like he is still getting back to where he was before last season's injury. The latter is averaging just 4.6 yards per carry so far. Wisner isn't much better, averaging five yards per carry on the nose. He is the only running back to average at least five yards per carry on the ground right now. Jerrick Gibson (4.1), James Simon (3.9), and Christian Clark (3.8) are all under that mark as well.

A quarterback's best friend is a strong running game, especially when they are struggling. It would be a huge help for Manning right now if he could take some pressure off his plate. The offensive line also needs some part of the blame in terms of efficiency, an inexperienced group that is also a work in progress. Some may have undervalued some of the support around Manning coming into the year, especially the quality up front.

If the Longhorns are able to get a semblance of a run game going, it could do wonders for Manning. With his natural athleticism and physical gifts, it could open up a world of possibilities, including the RPO and play-action game. You need to make things easy for quarterbacks when they are struggling. Let a quarterback's best friend be his best friend, or else Manning's struggles could continue, at least until he gets comfortable or healthy, whatever comes first.