Steve Sarkisian sets expectations for Arch Manning: ‘I want him to be him’
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Steve Sarkisian had plenty to say to reporters on Monday as the leadup began to Saturday’s massive battle in Knoxville.
It’ll be Sarkisian’s top-ranked Texas team invading Neyland Stadium to face No. 14 Tennessee, and it’ll be another measuring stick game for his star quarterback, Arch Manning. The 3-0 teams will play their SEC openers at noon ET on ABC, and Manning will try to snag another signature victory to go with the Week 2 comeback win over Ohio State in Austin.
Manning didn’t put up huge numbers in that massive win over the Buckeyes, but he directed the offense like a leader in that 21-point 4th quarter that saw the Horns turn a 23-3 deficit into a 24-23 victory.
What will the Horns need from Manning on Saturday on the road to outlast the Vols? Sarkisian had a specific message for his quarterback with the famous last name.
“I want him to be him. I want him to be Arch Manning. I don’t want him to be Archie (Manning). I don’t want him to be Peyton (Manning). I don’t want him to be Eli (Manning),” Steve Sarkisian told reporters. “I don’t want him to be Vince Young or Colt McCoy. I want him to be Arch Manning and Arch Manning is plenty good enough for us to put us in a position to win.”
In other words, he doesn’t want Arch Manning to be like any of his well-known quarterback family members or like any of the great Texas quarterbacks of the recent past. Just be you, Sarkisian said to his starting quarterback.
Manning will be trying to lead the Longhorns to a huge road victory on Saturday, but it won’t be easy against another ranked SEC powerhouse. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about the battle between the teams that wear orange and who has the better chance to come out on top at Rocky Top:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
