Arch Manning starts strong, throws 2 TDs early in first career start for Texas football vs. ULM
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian had a simple message for redshirt freshman Arch Manning making his first career start Saturday night against Louisiana-Monroe. “Go have fun,” Sarkisian said during his pre-game radio interview. Looks like he sure did. Manning had a strong start, hitting Isaiah Bond for a 56-yard gainer to get things rolling and then […]
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian had a simple message for redshirt freshman Arch Manning making his first career start Saturday night against Louisiana-Monroe.
“Go have fun,” Sarkisian said during his pre-game radio interview.
Looks like he sure did.
Manning had a strong start, hitting Isaiah Bond for a 56-yard gainer to get things rolling and then found Jaydon Blue for a 3-yard touchdown pass and Ryan Wingo for a 17-yard score.
Nick Saban praised QB Arch Manning and showed how he ‘got his ass knocked off’ for Texas football
Saban took control of the clicker Saturday morning and went over Manning’s debut in anticipation of his first start Saturday night against Louisiana-Monroe. Chances are it’s a segment that Texas coach Steve Sarkisian will watch multiple times, too. Saban covered just about everything. “The thing I love most about it is the confidence Sark shows […]
But as all young quarterbacks do, Manning had one bad throw that resulted in a turnover. He dodged one tackler but got hit while releasing the ball, and it resulted in a short-armed interception into traffic.
Still, Manning was off and running as Texas ran up a 21-0 lead early against the Warharks, who came into Royal-Memorial Stadium as 45-point underdogs.
When the first quarter was finished, Manning was already 8-for-12 for 138 yards as the Longhorns had 183 yards total.
“You know what I've noticed about Arch? He just wants to be the most prepared guy on the field,” Sarkisian said before the game. “And I think as much as that’s his own personal pride and competitiveness, it’s also because he loves his teammates so much, and he doesn’t want to let those guys down in any way.
“But my message to him before we take the field is, go have fun,” the coach added. “You know, Arch is always at his best when he’s loose and confident and playing good football that way. And you can be that way when you prepare really well. So he's earned that right to go play good football tonight.”
Manning is getting his first career start only because the regular starter, Heisman front-runner Quinn Ewers, is sidelined with a strained abdominal injury. It’s unclear if Ewers will return next week in the SEC opener against Mississippi State. The Longhorns are idle the following week.
