Arch Manning admits he has to play better than he has so far as he was booed by his own fans at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium during the Longhorns’ unconvincing 27-10 victory over UTEP.
The Texas quarterback is playing far below what was expected when he started the season as an early Heisman Trophy favorite and leader of what was then the No 1 team in the country. Manning struggled through a season-opening road loss at Ohio State that started a wave of national criticism and questions of whether he was overrated and was anointed too soon.
Saturday’s poor outing will only bring more scrutiny on the 21-year-old.
Manning was 11 of 25 passing for 114 yards and a touchdown against the Miners in a game Texas (2-1) were heavily favored to win with ease. He had a string of misfires with 10 consecutive incompletions in the second quarter, tossed an end zone interception and never looked comfortable as he side-armed some throws and missed open receivers on others.
Texas weren’t in danger of losing, but Manning‘s recurring struggles in the offense are enough to concern Texas fans about the upcoming SEC schedule and whether the Longhorns really are title contenders. Through the first three games, Manning is completing just 55% of passes.
“I’ve got to play better,” Manning said after the game. “A lot of quarterbacks, a lot of players, want to be great. I know I’m better than this.”
Greatness was expected from his first days on campus, and certainly from the first minute on the field this season. After all, he’s the latest big, strong-armed quarterback from America’s most famous football family.
He was one of the top recruits in the country coming out of high school. He waited the last two seasons at Texas behind Quinn Ewers, but flashed enough moments of brilliance in two starts when Ewers was hurt to further intensify already intense expectations. Off the field, he has raked in millions in endorsements. Some of his product television ads have aired during Texas games this season.
Certainly more was expected of a quarterback in his third season in coach Steve Sarkisian’s offense. And yet Manning often looks rushed or confused or just simply misses open receivers.
“All my life I’ve been an accurate passer,” Manning said. “I’ve just got to get back to it.”
Sarkisian believes he can bring Manning to the level of play that was expected. Sarkisian at various times has pleaded for patience from fans and pundits.
“I feel like we’ve done enough with him to have a pretty good understanding of who he is as a player and what he’s capable of. I know there’s a lot of football in him that’s high-level football,” Sarkisian said. “Our job as coaches is to work him towards that. We’ve righted the ship before, we’ll get there.”
Manning’s teammates say they’re still confident in him as their leader.
“He’s still a great quarterback,” offensive lineman Trevor Goosby said. “I tell him that every day.”
