With the struggles continuing for Texas football quarterback Arch Manning, there is no doubt that the headlines have been around the sophomore star and people trying to figure out what has led to the slow start. While Texas football head coach Steve Sarkisian believes Manning's struggles will be good in the long run, the latest report gives insight into what other rival coaches are feeling.
So far this season, Manning has thrown for 579 yards, along with six touchdowns and three interceptions through three games. Four of the touchdowns came in the 38-7 win over San Jose State, and it was the only game he threw for over 200 yards, with a rival coach saying that Manning is playing “nervous,” according to On3 Sports.
“I didn’t think we necessarily called up a crazy scheme against him,” an opposing coach said. “He had his progressions he needed to make, but I didn’t think we confused him as much as he just wasn’t making the throws. There were also moments where he was just rushing out of the pocket and then rushing a throw before he really set up to throw. He seemed nervous and, because of that, was not making some throws.”
A lot of the struggles could be connected to the pressure of being a quarterback for a huge program like the Longhorns, and not to mention that he has to live up to the pressure of having the family name of Manning.
“The freaking pressures that he’s under, being in Texas and being the guy, you could tell, there’s a lot of throws that he rushed and that are no-brainer completions when he settles down,” another opposing coach said.
Texas football's Arch Manning has to get over the “yips”
As some fans are starting to panic about the Texas football star in Manning, the sample size has been small, though it is no doubt a frustrating occurrence. The one aspect about Manning that he has to get over is the “yips,” as one SEC quarterbacks coach called it, with even a rival saying how the sophomore will be a “really good quarterback.”
“Yes, yips are a thing [with quarterbacks]. I think he’s a young kid who has a spotlight shined on him unfairly because of what his last name is,” an SEC quarterbacks coach said. “The expectations carved for him by the outside world are so unrealistic because of where he is in his development.”
He’s going to be a really good quarterback,” the quarterbacks coach continued. “He’s going to be a great player, he has the skillset, he’s got the pedigree and mentality. But he’s coming into this season, Paul Finebaum is saying he’s the biggest thing we’re ever going to see since LeBron James, and that’s so unfair to the kid.
Texas is 2-1 as Manning looks to prove the doubters wrong on Saturday when the team takes on Sam Houston.
