How backup QB KJ Lacey could help Texas

A football truism is that no one is more popular than the backup quarterback, and that’s certainly even more true when the starter is struggling like Texas Longhorns senior quarterback Arch Manning, who threw two crippling interceptions in the Red River Rivalry loss to the Oklahoma Sooners before regularly missing open receivers and fumbling away a chance at a comeback against the Florida Gators.

Should head coach Steve Sarkisian turn to sophomore KJ Lacey as he evaluates everything about his struggling offense?

It’s a difficult question to answer because Lacey has only attempted nine career passes and media isn’t allowed to watch practice beyond several tightly-controlled windows in the opening practices of spring and preseason camp.

And there’s no question that the quarterbacks on the roster are unable to fix the issues occurring along the offensive line in pass protection and run blocking or come up with better play calls in short-yardage situations.

But there are some simple ways that Lacey could improve the offense.

One of the primary issues for Manning is how poorly he’s seeing the field. When the Texas quarterback holds the ball in the pocket despite having open receivers, it seems like less of a processing issue in terms of going through progressions and more like a simple inability to see when players are open and deliver the football quickly.

Instead, Manning takes unnecessary sacks like he did late in the game when the Longhorns had a chance to drive for the tie or take the lead. Not only did Manning get sacked, he also fumbled, essentially ending the game when the Gators recovered.

Junior wide receiver Emmett Mosley V was wide open on an out route on the play.

The poor decision making extends to the choices that Manning makes about whether to throw the ball or scramble.

On one play early in the second quarter, after Manning took a bad first-down sack despite having multiple open receivers, he opted to target a post route against a middle-field closed coverage that nearly resulted in an interception despite stepping up into the pocket and having plenty of running room on the 2nd and 16 play.

The running back was also wide open on the check down.

After a 15-yard screen pass on third down, a bad fourth-down play call resulted in a turnover on downs, affording Florida a short field that turned into a touchdown drive just before halftime, indicative of how Manning’s deficiencies transform into larger problems for Texas.

So Lacey could provide an upgrade over Manning by making quick, simple decisions to target open receivers, take check downs, or pick up available yardage on scrambles.

And although Lacey is essentially a blank canvas from an evaluation standpoint, Manning is seeing the field so poorly that it would be difficult for Lacey to be worse in those areas of the game.

The limited game film on Lacey reveals that he’s comfortable and capable when Sarkisian moves the pocket for him, a priority given his extremely limited size.

The Alabama product provided further evidence of his ability to make throws under pressure with a back-shoulder completion to fifth-year wide receiver Sterling Berkhalter.

Lacey also flashed quick decision making against Texas State by scrambling on a run-pass option when the window for his throw was closed down.

However, there are serious concerns about how well Lacey can manage throwing lanes against pressure, which Texas is seeing consistently because the offensive line is regularly blowing assignments in pass protection. That’s why the standard is so high for short quarterbacks to earn opportunities at major programs like Texas.

For Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian, the decision to bench Manning isn’t an easy one, but the first step is to give Lacey some fist-team reps in practice to determine how he operates with the starters.

The risk is that it could further crater Manning’s already fragile confidence. If Manning gets benched and Lacey struggles, too, what does Sarkisian do? Turn back to Manning? Stick with the inexperienced sophomore?

The season is already trending towards disaster, and making a change at quarterback could make things worse while functionally ending Manning’s career at Texas and any hope of building him back up to the level of football he was playing at the end of last season.

It’s a weighty choice, but it’s clear that something has to change offensively for the Longhorns.