Manning, the No. 1 overall recruit of the 2023 class, per 247Sports’ Composite rankings, completed a mere 11 of 25 passes for 114 yards with a touchdown and an interception against the Miners in Week 3, also rushing for 51 yards with two scores.
He also ended the first half with 10 consecutive incompletions as he struggled with accuracy, which resulted in boos from Texas’ home crowd.
The redshirt sophomore flashed in his start against Mississippi State in 2024, as he finished his first career start with 325 passing yards and three total touchdowns against the Bulldogs. The Longhorns are certainly hoping for that version of Manning, the nephew of Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning, at some point this season.
Here is what Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said of Manning’s performance following the game:
“He knew he was missing some throws that I think he’s comfortable making, and then you start skipping reads and scrambling and relying on his legs too much,” Sarkisian told reporters after the game. “And that’s always my caution, is that when you have a little success with your legs, then you start to rely on your legs, and then we’re out of scheme, and now we’re just playing athlete football.
‘Athlete football can get you so far, but sooner or later, that catches up with you, too.”
Sarkisian was also asked about Manning’s mechanics, as there has been speculation the quarterback lost some of his fundamentals in 2025. Sarkisian related Manning’s struggles to a golf swing, noting the idea of starting a golf swing fast before slowing it down to initiate solid contact.
“That’s never a recipe for success, and that’s not a good recipe for throwing a football either,” Sarkisian said. “I felt like that happened at times today. But I’ll have to evaluate the tape a little bit more to see if there’s anything else fundamentally that I didn’t like.”
Through three starts this season, Manning is 47 of 85 passing (55.2%) for 579 yards with six passing touchdowns and three interceptions. He has also rushed for 112 yards and three touchdowns.
Speculation about Manning’s health has also emerged this season, though Sarkisian shot down those rumors in his weekly news conference prior to the UTEP matchup.
One thing is clear: If Texas wants to contend for the national championship like many expect in 2025, Manning is going to need to play a lot better moving forward, especially when SEC play starts.
“We’ve done enough with him to have a pretty good understanding of who he is as a player and what he’s capable of,” Sarkisian said. “And I know there’s a lot of football in there that’s high-level, quality football, and so is my expectation of him as a player, high? Yes. Do I expect him to play the best football of his career the first three games of the season? Probably not.”