The Texas Longhorns were dealt their first defeat of the season on Saturday in their game against the Oklahoma Sooners with more concerns shared about Arch Manning.
Manning’s future remains a real talking point as his stock continues to drop in the world of college football as he works towards potentially declaring for the 2027 NFL Draft. The notion of Manning remaining in college for another year remains a real possibility.
However, his performance on Saturday now has a number of people questioning whether the Longhorns would even welcome the 22-year-old back. Stephen A. Smith has weighed in on the relationship between Manning and head coach Stephen Sarkisian.
Stephen A. Smith does not hold back in Arch Manning advice
The game on Saturday did see Manning throw for three touchdown passes and 260 yards. However, the stain on his stats was the two interceptions he also threw in a game that was decided by a last-second field goal.
“I just don’t want to see an elevated level of pacification kick in. The bottom line is that you’re going to have to go through it. You can’t be babied, and I’m not saying that’s Arch Manning’s fault,” said Smith on First Take.
“Last year, I looked at Sarkisian, and I was saying to myself, “He seemed to be challenged.” I asked him that. He seemed to be challenged in terms of coaching Arch Manning, as opposed to just coaching the football team and making sure Arch Manning is part of that. You got to coach him hard.”
Manning has now thrown five interceptions through the opening five games of the season. The turnovers on Saturday came back to bite the Longhorns as the Sooners secured a narrow victory.
The pressure is already mounting on Manning given the high expectations placed on his shoulders. Saturday’s performance was not the response required coming off the Bye Week and it is clear that those in the media are demanding the young QB is trained even harder by his coaches.
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