Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said he would evaluate everything after the Longhorns' loss to Florida on Saturday, Oct. 17, marking the program's second consecutive loss.
That reportedly includes a potential quarterback change at some point.
Per a report from ESPN, Texas will give backup quarterback KJ Lacey Jr. an increase in first-team reps this week ahead of the Longhorns' game vs. Mississippi. The move comes amid struggles from second-year starter Arch Manning, who has committed three critical fourth-quarter turnovers in the Longhorns' losses to Oklahoma and Florida.
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"There's no doubt about it, Arch can play better for us," Sarkisian said on Monday, Oct. 19. "He's our starter, but I need to see a better version of Arch Manning, like I need to see a better version of a lot of guys on our offensive football team right now.
"We need to see a better version of him this week."
Lacey, a second-year player, was a four-star recruit in the 2025 recruiting class, per 247Sports' Composite rankings. He was the No. 156 player nationally and No. 14 quarterback and has 70 career passing yards across three appearances.
Sarkisian said he didn't see Lacey Jr. taking more first-team reps than he normally does in any given week, but said "we'll find out as the week goes."
Texas' offense leads the SEC in three-and-out rate — one spot ahead of archrival Oklahoma, who has only scored four combined offensive touchdowns in each of its first three conference games — at 28.57% so far this season. Manning has 1,295 passing yards with 11 touchdowns to five interceptions this season, ranking 61st nationally in QBR (59.2).
Manning is far from Texas' only concerns offensively this season, as the Longhorns rank 13th in the conference in both rushing yards per game (135) and yards per carry (3.6), despite adding high-end transfers Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown from North Carolina State and Arizona State, respectively.
Manning, the nephew of Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning, was the No. 1-ranked player nationally as a high school recruit in 2023. The fourth-year player entered the 2026 season as one of the faces of college football but hasn't quite taken the jump this season many expected from the talented signal caller.
"Ultimately, the player is in there," Sarkisian said. "It's our job to try and get it out of him."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Steve Sarkisian denies report Arch Manning's backup getting more first-team reps