The negativity surrounding Arch Manning has reached new heights this season.
The Texas Longhorns star quarterback has had his share of sturggles in recent weeks, leading to a two-game losing streak that puts his team's College Football Playoff hopes in the balance ahead of Saturday's matchup against No. 7 Ole Miss.
But instead of tucking his tail and running from all of the noise, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said that the current adversity is bringing out a new version of Manning, one that he's excited to see on Saturday night.
Steve Sarkisian on Arch Manning's New Approach: "I Like It"
Sarkisian said that Manning has been "edgy" at practice this week, a different approach from the light-hearted kid that fans saw after the Longhorns were coming off the high of beating Ohio State.
"I would use the word edgy, and I like it," Sarkisian said. "He's edgy right now, and you know I think that somebody texted me today that we lost the 'Ah Shucks' kid, you know, and we've created something else. I don't know if we lost him. We created this, you know. We did, all of us, y'all included, me, the whole thing, right? Everybody on ESPN, we've created this, and so we'll see what comes out of it. But he's edgy right now, and honestly, I appreciate that about him."
With all of the negativity that surrounds him, Sarkisian said it was only a matter of time until Manning decided to throw a figurative punch of his own. No. he can't get in front of the mic and criticize media pundits the way they do to him, but he can start to silence the doubters with a potential bounce-back performance against a Top-10 Ole Miss team.
"At some point, he's got to fight back, and the best way for him to fight back is going out and playing really good football with his teammates and enjoy playing football with his teammates, and so you know I'm looking forward to watching him compete Saturday night," Sarkisian said.
How Has Arch Manning's Backup Looked?
Sarkisian was also asked about Texas backup quarterback KJ Lacey on Thursday.
While Sarkisian chose to not get into any specifics about the week, he said that Lacey has overall been solid this season.
"KJ's a good player," Sarkisian said. "He's dynamic with the ball in his hands. He's a natural passer. There's always things, nuances when you lack experience in practice, and you put them in some difficult situations. There's some growing pains that come with that. But he's coachable. He brings a good attitude every day. He's got good rapport with his teammates."
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