As college football teams begin their spring practices, it is the first time that reclassified freshmen have a chance to play with their new teammates. That includes maybe the most popular freshman in the country: Texas quarterback Arch Manning.
The Longhorns held their first practice of the season on Monday, with Manning taking part for the first time in Austin. After the practice, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian explained how Manning looked in his first action.
“For Arch today, day one, there are some plays that he’d love to have back and there are some other plays that he made, everybody was like ‘Wow, that’s a heck of a play,’” Sarkisian said. “He brings a worker’s mentality and he wants to be really good in this game.”
Manning first enrolled at Texas in January, and immediately received a culture shock after he lost his student ID twice in the first few weeks. The 17-year-old is dealing with a giant life change reclassifying and entering college a semester early.
Sarkisian explained that he recognizes Manning will have to get accustomed to his new surroundings, and that is no different on the football field.
“It’s like anything, there’s growing pains, we make a big deal out of the guy losing his ID twice in school. He’s a freshman in college, but he does take it seriously and he does want to be really good,” Sarkisian said. “And the beauty of it, one of the guys he’s competing with is taking it seriously and wants to be really good, and that competition should drive the best out of both of them.”
Manning is primarily competing with quarterback Quinn Ewers, who was last year’s starting quarterback for the Longhorns. Sarkisian praised both players and seems to think they will make each other better by practicing together.
