Texas HC Steve Sarkisian reveals when QB Arch Manning could see action for the Longhorns

College football fans, in general, are anxious to see what Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning, a redshirt freshman, can do at the collegiate level — especially after his big spring game performance last month.  Manning, the nephew of former Super Bowl MVPs Eli and Peyton Manning, is a former five-star recruit that signed with Texas […]

Zach Ragan Tennessee Volunteers News Writer
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Texas Longhorns football

College football fans, in general, are anxious to see what Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning, a redshirt freshman, can do at the collegiate level — especially after his big spring game performance last month

Manning, the nephew of former Super Bowl MVPs Eli and Peyton Manning, is a former five-star recruit that signed with Texas over Alabama, Georgia, LSU, and Ole Miss, among a host of others. 

The New Orleans native will enter the 2024 season as the primary backup to Quinn Ewers at Texas. 

Fans, however, may get to see Manning in action sooner than expected. 

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian spoke to reporters on Tuesday in Destin ahead of the SEC spring meetings and he revealed that he hopes to get Manning some action early in the 2024 season. 

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“Hopefully, we can find some opportunities early in the season where we can get Arch some valuable experience, and even [true freshman] Trey [Owens] for that matter just to get them comfortable playing," said Sarkisian. 

Texas starts the season with a matchup against Colorado State before a massive showdown in Ann Arbor with Michigan. 

It's clear from the way Sarkisian handled the Longhorns' spring game that he wants to get Manning as much experience as possible in case he's forced into action. And that's certainly understandable considering Ewers has missed games in each of the last two seasons while dealing with shoulder injuries. It seems more likely than not that Manning will be needed for at least a spot start at some point in 2024.  

"Before the spring game, I met with Quinn, and he knew how that was going to go,” said Sarkisian of Manning's extended action in the spring game. “I needed to get Arch extended playing time." 

For all of the talk about Manning having to wait until 2025 to get his chance to run the offense at Texas, it feels like fans are still going to see plenty of the young quarterback in action for the Longhorns in 2024.