Steve Sarkisian Preaches Patience With Arch Manning, Attempts To Curb Expectations

Steve Sarkisian is going out of his way to make sure Texas fans don't have crazy expectations for Arch Manning.

The latest star QB in the Manning family enrolled early at Texas after an incredible career at Isidore Newman in Louisiana. Arch Manning left high school as the top recruit in the 2024 class.

Longhorns fans want to see him play, but it's highly-unlikely that happens in the near future. Right now, he's buried at three on the depth chart with future NFL QB Quinn Ewers locked in as the starter and redshirt freshman Maalik Murphy sitting in the QB2 spot.

Well, Sarkisian is making it clear fans need to relax with their expectations for Arch Manning.

Steve Sarkisian wants to dial back Arch Manning expectations. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)

Steve Sarkisian wants people to chill out when it comes to Arch Manning.

"I feel like I needed to remind everybody — in our spring game, the guy should have been at the Senior Car Wash raising money for prom or something. He still should have been in high school at that game. It was invaluable experience for him to be with us and to get a lot of that newness out," the Texas Longhorns head coach said on the "Always College Football" podcast with Greg McElroy, according to The Spun.

Arch Manning is QB3 currently for the Texas Longhorns. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)

This is the first time Sarkisian has attempted to curb expectations when it comes to Arch Manning's freshman campaign.

He previously said the following in May during an interview on 105.3 The Fan:

He’s on the right trajectory that he should be on, he’s a true freshman in college. He really should be in high school, just finished his first semester on the Forty Acres. And so there’s a different transition there. There’s a transition to college life. There’s a transition to the scheme of the game he hasn’t been accustomed to and a transition to the the speed of the game. There were a lot of really good moments that Arch had throughout the spring and there were a couple tough days.

Arch will likely redshirt.

Texas fans should definitely not expect Arch Manning to take a single starting rep in 2023. If he does, it means something has gone very wrong.

Quinn Ewers, a fellow top overall recruit, is locked in as the starter in Austin, and he's one of the best QBs in America when he's rolling at the top of his game.

Right now, Ewers is a significantly better QB than Arch Manning. The plan is for Arch to redshirt this season, Ewers will likely go pro after the 2023 campaign and then the latest Manning prodigy and Maalik Murphy can battle it out for the starting role in 2024.

Will Arch Manning play at all in 2023? (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)

That's the situation unfolding in Austin. Arch Manning might turn out to be an absolute stud for the Longhorns, but it's not going to happen in 2023. Fans can believe it or not, but Sarkisian is making it crystal clear it's time to dial back the hype.