The Texas Longhorns are making a quarterback change in practice this week, and it has fans asking whether Arch Manning’s grip on the starting job is slipping. News out of Austin on Monday morning made clear that Texas is giving more first-team quarterback reps to redshirt freshman K.J. Lacey Jr. after Saturday’s loss to the Florida Gators.

College football insider Pete Thamel shared the news in a post:

> Texas is expected to give an uptick in first-team quarterback reps to redshirt freshman KJ Lacey Jr. this week in practice. Arch Manning still projects as the Texas starter. The uptick in Lacey’s reps is a signal that Texas could replace Manning if he continues to struggle.”

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Thamel went on to echo what Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian said after the loss to Florida. Sarkisian said everything, including the quarterback position, is under evaluation. At the time, that sounded like standard postgame coachspeak. Now it seems very likely he had Manning and the future of the Texas offense in mind.

Why Lacey’s added reps matter for Arch Manning

I understand the official sentiment here. Manning is still the starter, and he will still be the one taking the field for Texas this weekend. But practice reps are precious, especially with the first-team offense in the middle of the season.

You don’t take those reps away from your starting quarterback unless one of two things is true. Either your starter is hurt, or your starter is in danger of being benched. Nothing suggests Manning is injured, so the message from Sarkisian’s staff is hard to miss.

The numbers back up why the Longhorns would consider it. CJ Vogel posted on X that Pro Football Focus graded Manning as the 117th-best quarterback in the country in Week 7, with a 43.3 grade. That is not the kind of grade anyone in Austin expected from a player who entered the season as a Heisman favorite and a projected No. 1 overall pick.

I don’t need to tell Texas fans this hasn’t been the season they envisioned. The defense hasn’t been what it was supposed to be. Sarkisian hasn’t pushed the right buttons. Even star wide receiver Cam Coleman hasn’t been the game-changer many expected. More than anyone, though, Manning simply hasn’t lived up to the hype.

How much of the blame belongs on Steve Sarkisian?

Still, I can’t help but wonder how much of this falls on the man at the top. Sarkisian is the one making the decision to pull reps from his starting quarterback, and he is also the one responsible for the offense around him.

Look at the talent on that side of the ball. Texas has two offensive tackles who could be first-round picks. It has two wide receivers who should be first-round picks. It has two running backs who rank among the best in the country. Then there’s a 6-foot-4, 220-pound quarterback with a live arm and the ability to make plays with his legs.

On paper, that is a championship-caliber offense. Yet through seven weeks, Manning and the Longhorns have already lost two games, and the quarterback is the one whose job is being put under the microscope.

Manning has to play better, and there’s no getting around that. Missed throws and poor decisions show up on tape, and a 43.3 grade doesn’t happen by accident. But when an offense loaded with that much NFL talent struggles this badly, the problem usually runs deeper than one player.

Giving Lacey more first-team work is the easy lever for Sarkisian to pull. It sends a message to the locker room and to the fan base that nobody’s job is safe. Whether it fixes what is actually wrong with this Texas offense is a different question.

I’m not sure exactly who to put the blame on in Austin. I’m just not convinced Manning deserves as much of it as he’s getting right now.