OTF Premium Making more layups is the key to Arch Manning elevating his game and the Texas offense

[Jeff Howe]

AUSTIN, Texas — Those wondering how Arch Manning’s first day of Texas camp went didn’t have to wait long to find out.

“I thought Arch had a good day,” Steve Sarkisian said after the Longhorns wrapped up Wednesday’s practice. Five minutes into his post-practice press conference, Sarkisian was asked which Longhorns, in his opinion, stood out in the team’s first official practice, held at Denius Fields with 31 days to go until the Sept. 5 season opener against Texas State.

Manning’s name was the first out of Sarkisian’s mouth.

“I've seen a lot of rough quarterback days (on the) first day of practice,” Sarkisian said. “The defenses have seen all of these same plays, I feel like, all summer long. I thought he looked good.”

If Manning can be efficient, successfully build a rapport with the revamped Texas wide receiver and offensive line groups (making up for time he missed while recovering from foot surgery in the spring), continue to protect the football and find ways to create explosive plays, it’ll be a successful camp for the redshirt junior. While checking the boxes next to those items on the to-do list, Manning needs to make strides to elevate his game and the offense as a whole is making his layups, as Sarkisian calls them.

According to Pro Football Focus, Manning was one of the least effective quarterbacks in the SEC when throwing the ball up to nine yards down the field. Of the 20 SEC quarterbacks who attempted at least 30 passes from a depth of 0-9 yards last season, Manning ranked last in yards per pass attempt (5.3), posted the fourth-worst completion percentage (69.2) and threw for the fifth-fewest yards (624).

The Longhorns’ improvement in the short passing game isn’t squarely on Manning’s shoulders. Only 28.7 percent of Manning’s pass attempts last season came within the area of the field that PFF defines as a short pass (Georgia’s Gunner Stockton was the only SEC quarterback with a lower percentage on at least 30 attempts). Still, Manning’s 10 percent drop percentage (nine drops on short pass attempts) was the fifth-highest in the SEC; Manning threw just one interception and was charged with only two turnover-worthy plays on short passes.

Among 17 SEC quarterbacks who attempted at least 30 passes behind the line of scrimmage in 2025, Manning’s PFF passing grade (72.6) was the fifth-best in the conference. That’s also where Manning's grade on intermediate throws (10-19 yards down the field) was, with an 89.5 putting him just outside the top quarter of SEC quarterbacks.

One of the top Power Four quarterbacks last season on deep throws (a PFF grade of 91.5 on attempts of 20 yards or more down the field was the fourth-best in the SEC among the 14 quarterbacks who threw at least 30 deep balls), the short game is the passing depth where Manning noticeably struggled to find his footing last season. To that end, Sarkisian would be surprised if that part of Manning’s game isn’t markedly better in 2026.

“I think that he's put in a lot of work and I've seen the progress that's been made by him, and that's a credit to him and the time and effort he's put into this thing,” Sarkisian said. “My goal and hope for him is that he just does what I've been watching him do because I think if he can take that next step, we know the big-play potential is there.

“Like I say, making your layups is huge.”

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[Jeff Howe]

This is an area where Arch and Cam Coleman can grow together. Coleman had three drops on short passes last season (0-9 yards down the field), which was tied for the second-most in the SEC.

[Hookem72]

Wingo had a lot too. I sometimes wake up in a night sweat recalling them.  

[Jeff Howe]

6 minutes ago, Hookem72 said:

Wingo had a lot too. I sometimes wake up in a night sweat recalling them.  

PFF has him down for two from that depth.

[Burnt Orange Horn]

Arch will be more relaxed and less hurried this year.  Last year LG was an open door to the backfield until Robertson was installed at Center and Hutson took over LG.

Hence Arch's success in the second half of the season!!

🤘🏻🤘🏼🤘🤘🏽🤘🏾🤘🏿

Edited 45 minutes ago by Burnt Orange Horn

[Alex Butler]

22 minutes ago, Jeff Howe said:

This is an area where Arch and Cam Coleman can grow together. Coleman had three drops on short passes last season (0-9 yards down the field), which was tied for the second-most in the SEC.

To be fair to Cam he had Jax throwing to him 😆 

[Jeff Howe]

Another part of the equation here is Sark having a better feel for what Arch likes and what helps get him in rhythm. It’s no coincidence that Sark’s opening scripts were much more effective as the year went on, coinciding with Arch’s growth.

[Hookem72]

7 minutes ago, Jeff Howe said:

Another part of the equation here is Sark having a better feel for what Arch likes and what helps get him in rhythm. It’s no coincidence that Sark’s opening scripts were much more effective as the year went on, coinciding with Arch’s growth.

I think Milwee also helped the situation.  Who knows how much of Arch’s foot contributed    But him throwing passes in the dirt didn’t help when combined with the drops.

There were a number of opening scripts last year that fell apart because of dropped passes bad throws and penalties.  Then Sark would get frustrated at long drives by the opponent that further threw his script off.