Steve Sarkisian sees something different in Arch Manning this week, and he likes it.
With Texas sliding into a two-game losing streak and Saturday’s trip to No. 7 Ole Miss carrying major weight for the Longhorns’ College Football Playoff hopes, Manning has become the center of plenty of noise.
But Sarkisian said the freshman quarterback hasn’t responded by shrinking from it. If anything, the pressure has sharpened him.
“He’s edgy right now,” Sarkisian said, adding, “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.”
That’s a noticeable shift from the easygoing version of Manning fans saw after Texas beat Ohio State.
Sarkisian said the change is part of how Manning is handling the wave of criticism around him. He can’t step to a microphone and fire back at the pundits, but he can answer in the one place that matters most: on the field.
“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.
Sarkisian also addressed backup quarterback KJ Lacey on Thursday, though he didn’t offer specifics about the week. He did say Lacey has been solid overall 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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The dates are already set for Sept. 9, 2028, in South Bend and Sept. 22, 2029, in Austin, giving Texas a marquee trip and a return game in front of its own fans. It also lines up with the Longhorns stated preference to keep valued nonconference dates on the calendar, the kind of matchups that can still carry real weight even in a sport where the postseason picture is getting larger and more forgiving. [Read more 🡒]