Steve Sarkisian identifies Arch Manning mechanical issue in Ohio State game
By Mark Kern
Published:
Steve Sarkisian and Arch Manning had a tough Week 1 game as the Texas Longhorns lost their opener against Ohio State, 14-7. There was so much hype for Manning entering that game, but he struggled as he finished 17-of-30, 170 yards and one touchdown.
At times, he looked confused by what Ohio State defensive coordinator Matt Patricia was throwing at him. Accuracy was also an issue, as he missed numerous receivers throughout the game that were wide open.
Most of those misses were over the middle of the field on crossing routes, and Sarkisian believes those misses occurred because of mechanical issues.
“There was a couple of times where we had some crossing routes where I didn’t feel like he brought his feet to where he wanted to throw the ball, which in turn forced kind of a sidearm delivery which isn’t his style of throwing,” Steve Sarkisian said.
Expectations were sky high for Manning and the Longhorns, as many of the most known college football pundits were predicting a major breakout party in Columbus.
In fairness to Manning, it was his first start ever in a road game. Playing your first-ever road game against the defending national champion is going to be a very tough task, regardless of how talented you are.
While it wasn’t what the performance many were expecting, Sarkisian believes just getting more game reps will help Manning figure those things out.
“Part of that is just finding that comfort level of trust with receivers in real games, right?,” Sarkisian said. “Not in practice, not against a scout team, but in a real game against a good defense because the windows get small against good defenses like that.”
The Longhorns don’t figure to see an opponent like that for a while, with their next game against a ranked opponent being at Florida on Oct. 4.
Up next is a home game against San Jose State on Sept. 6.
