Steve Sarkisian ready to unlock important part of Arch Manning’s game this weekend versus the Florida Gators
There is one thing the Texas head coach is ready to unleash in the Swamp.
Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning probably needed the bye week more than anyone. He had a rough season-opener against Ohio State and virtually everyone in the national landscape immediately turned on him.
Texas bounced back with three-straight non-conference wins, but Manning’s performances still left a lot to be desired. His final tune-up before Saturday’s clash with Florida will be his stiffest test since the game on the road versus the Buckeyes.
Steve Sarkisian met with the media Monday to talk about preparations for this weekend’s road matchup and what is important for the Longhorns in order to secure a fifth win.
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Steve Sarkisian knows the importance of Arch Manning in the run game.
With running back injuries and a still-evolving offensive line, the run game has been just okay through four games. But, Manning’s participation in said run game is vital to the future success of the Longhorns’ offense, per the head coach.
“Naturally, we wanted to build on coming out of the Sam Houston game, because I thought that [Manning] did some really good things for us in that game,” Sarkisian said. “His ability to push the ball down the field; his ability to play within rhythm and timing; and get to secondary reads; his ability to use his legs to his advantage, and our ability to utilize his legs, I think, are important.
He also thinks Manning needs to stay patient. At times in recent weeks Manning looked like he was rushing and speeding himself, literally and figuratively. His mechanics were not in synch, he was off-schedule, not in rhythm, and the chemistry with his receivers suffered.
“I think we’ve got to continue to push the second, third and fourth reads, you know? We try our best as a coaching staff to get the first read open, and when we can’t, we’ve got to have the ability to get through our progression.”
Speaking of the chemistry with wide receivers, Arch Manning thinks it’s improving.
“[The vertical passing game] was good,” Manning said. “We connected with Ryan [Wingo] the last two games. You gotta continue to take it when it’s there – not force it.”
Sarkisian thinks a lot of the early struggles has to do with the preseason hype and the team putting far too much pressure on themselves. He thinks the fix is simple.
“I think they’ve got to play for the love of the game, because they do love the game,” Sarkisian said. “They need to play football and not work football. And I think that’s something we’ve been working on with Arch [Manning]. And I’m sure there’s a lot of other coaches around the country that are going through similar things in that realm.
“You could talk Ryan Wingo, very similar, like these guys finally started to relax. It took four games in to relax and play a little bit. But I could feel guys press this weekend as well, watching them play. And, you know, I hope for them that they can get through it. Our game is better when the good players are playing really good.”
