A reporter asked Steve Sarkisian if Arch Manning was experiencing pain when throwing the ball, and the Texas coach immediately went on the offensive at his Monday press conference in Austin.
“According to who?” Sarkisian asked about Manning’s health. “He doesn’t have any.”
The reporter asked if there’s an explanation for why Manning “looked like that” and if there were problems with his shoulder.
“I don’t know,” Sarkisian said. “I’ve never filmed any of you guys when you’re using the bathroom, so I don’t know what faces you make when you’re doing that.”
After two games as the Longhorns’ starter, Manning remains a focal point.
Sarkisian believes Texas is getting there, but understands the Longhorns have a lot of ground to cover to be their best. Some of Texas’ top individual players, Colin Simmons (multiple penalties in each of the first two games) and wide receiver Ryan Wingo are guilty of “trying too hard,” the coach said.
“We’re going to get ready to go into SEC play,” Sarkisian said Monday. “The variety of offenses you get, to the style of the quarterbacks that you play to the multitude of fronts that you’re going to play. … We have some growing pains from a player’s perspective. But there’s some growing pains from a staff perspective, too. What do we really like? What works, what doesn’t? Even when things don’t go exactly the way we want, are we able to adjust it in game and get better?”
Texas began the season ranked No. 1 overall and lost in a high-profile matchup at Ohio State to begin the season. Texas (1-1) bounced back behind a takeaway-happy defense last week, forcing three fumbles (two by preseason All-American linebacker Anthony Hill) and coming up with an interception in a 38-7 victory over San Jose State.
Quarterback Arch Manning completed 19 of 30 passes with four TD passes and was intercepted once. Sarkisian said Parker Livingstone is helping take some of the attention away from the rest of the offense. He had 128 receiving yards and two touchdowns Saturday.
“I thought Arch had a very good football game,” Sarkisian said. “He was not perfect. I do not expect him to be.
“We obviously challenged Arch from one week to the next. He obviously responded. And I think there’s still growing pains in there.”
The offense as a whole continues to work through timing and getting all 11 on the same page. Offensive line cohesion is a continued work in progress, but the schedule appears to offer a window for the Longhorns to get it together. Up next are games against UTEP and Sam Houston at home before the Longhorns head to Gainesville to take on an SEC foe, the Florida Gators.
Of their 12 third-down snaps on offense against San Jose State, the Longhorns faced a distance to gain of at least nine yards on 50 percent of those plays.
While Texas knows the long view involves SEC foes and bigger stakes, Sarkisian wants his team to understand there’s no time to exhale. He said he appreciates how coachable his team is and expects them to respond.
“Where was our mental intensity? Where was our mental focus?” Sarkisian said. “Human nature is ‘let’s take a deep breath and relax.’ We don’t get to relax. All that starts with me.”