“Every bit as advertised.” This is the consensus on Arch Manning as prepares to take the QB 1 spot at the Longhorns. After waiting for two years to earn his chance, Manning isn’t resting on the reputation of his last name. Manning is grinding through early spring workouts, setting the tone as a leader in the offseason program. According to his coach, his work ethic is speaking just as loudly as his talent. The recent college football QB rankings place him at the top of the list with spring sessions underway across the country. The hype around Arch Manning is as real as it gets but as he gears up for his long-awaited breakout campaign, he will have to deal with a major concern in the Texas camp.

Last season, Manning sat back quietly behind Quinn Ewers in the pecking order, just as he had done the year before. Apart from this, he declined to partake in NIL deals, despite the Manning last name until he became the starter. And now the moment is here with the spotlight firmly on him. Not only he is one of the top QBs in the country, but he is also the top NIL earner with a $6.5 million valuation from On3, adding to the expectations. However, meeting those expectations might prove challenging for him.

Unlike Ewers, Manning finds himself throwing the ball to receivers who have little to no experience. The team’s leading receiver, DeAndre Moore Jr., will be limited in the spring practice due to a lingering toe injury while Matthew Golden and Isaiah Bond are both headed to the NFL. This leaves Ryan Wingo as the only receiver on the roster with a catch in their college career, a worrying sign for Manning. Texas insiders Joe Cook and Justin discussed the situation in depth on Friday.

Talking on Inside Texas Football to discuss the team’s spring practice, they had a lot of praise for Arch Manning. “Arch Manning—you know we gotta talk about the Texas starting quarterback. And he made a throw, apparently, the other day that had everybody stopping and looking, saying, ‘Wow, okay, the hype is real with this guy.’” Cook noted. And let’s be honest, Texas fans have been waiting for this moment since the kid set foot on campus. But then Wells kept it real about the major Longhorns crisis.

“Arch is being Arch. And you love to hear that because, hey, they’ve lost a lot of receivers in the last two years. Tons of kids have been headed to the NFL. They’re having to replace a lot of guys. And so you wanna see that timing. You wanna see them getting in sync, especially with a lot of these freshman receivers that are getting a lot of reps that we’re gonna talk about later.” 

Turns out, the Texas Longhorns’ wide receiver corps is looking a lot more like a rookie roster than a polished pack of pass-catchers. The Longhorns’ wideout corp basically got gutted over the last couple of years. Over the last two years, Texas has seen the likes of Adonai Mitchell and Xavier Worthy punch their tickets to the NFL. Now, apart from Golden and Bond, tight-end Gunnar Helm is also headed to the big league. Moreover, the whole drama around Johntay Cook II transferring to Washington doesn’t paint the ideal picture.

Moore’s injury is a blow to Manning and Texas. He was the third-most productive receiver on the team last year with 39 catches for 456 yards and seven touchdowns. He had been identified as the player with a huge part to play in this Texas Longhorn offense and was seen as Manning’s top target. But for now, their most experienced receiver remains sidelined.

Sure, Texas brought in some fresh blood. The 2025 recruiting class is stacked, sitting pretty at the top of the rankings with five five-star prospects, fourteen four-stars, and six three-stars. Big names like Kaliq Lockett from Sachse, TX, and Jaime Ffrench from Jacksonville, FL are the new targets everyone is hyped about. But it will be hard for them to hit the ground running, especially at a high-pressure program like Texas. Not to mention their lack of experience at this level means a long learning curve for Manning as well. Sarkisian realizes this and thus made a key decision a few weeks ago.

For fans waiting to see Manning in action, they must be patient as Sarkisian announced that the Longhorns won’t have a spring game this season. The reason? An influx of young and inexperienced players. The HC wants Manning to develop more chemistry with the new recruits before they can take to the field.

“We’re not going to have a spring game,” Sarkisian said in an interview with Kay Adams on the “Up & Adams Show” last month. “We’ve got a lot of young players on our roster. We have 21 midyear high school kids who just showed up. The development that is needed to get these guys ready for the fall is a little bit different than it used to be. I just don’t know rolling the ball out, playing the game, when we only get 15 practices, is the best for us to maximize the opportunities that we get.”

Timing is everything when you’re trying to light up the scoreboard. And right now, Manning’s got a whole bunch of new faces he’s gotta build that trust with. Timing routes, understanding how wide-out move, reading coverage breaks—it all takes time. As such, Ryan Wingo will have to step up for Manning.

Wingo finished his freshman season with 472 yards and two touchdowns and showed shades of a strong connection with Manning when they played together at times last season. Moreover, the latest update on Wingo could be a major boost to his chances of excelling in the role.

According to Orangebloods’ Anward Richardson, Wingo had to undergo LASIK surgery after struggling with his vision last season. “According to my sources, Texas WR Ryan Wingo recently had LASIK surgery after the staff discovered he was struggling with very poor vision after struggling in workouts. Apparently, he dealt with it last season. However, he’ll clearly see those dimes from Arch Manning this season,” Richardson wrote. The fact that he was able to make 29 catches despite problems with his vision bodes well for Texas.

As for Manning, well, he already understands the task at hand.

On Monday, Sarkisian talked about how Manning is not leaving “any stone unturned” as he continues to prepare to prove himself in the coming season. “He’s working so hard in the offseason conditioning runs. He’s now setting up those voluntary throwing sessions with the receivers during the week or on the weekend. He’s breaking the team down. All those natural things that a quarterback has to do to instill belief in his teammates, to instill belief in the staff, he’s doing it,” Sarkisian noted.

While the weight of expectations remains as strong as ever on Manning, his coach has also thrown the gauntlet after confirming his future with the program after turning down offers from the NFL.

Steve Sarkisian spills the truth committing to the Longhorns

Steve Sarkisian got the Longhorns making back-to-back College Football Playoff semifinals and racking up a shiny 25-5 record over two seasons, you know the league’s been making calls. But Sarkisian’s still rocking the burnt orange and white. Why? Simple: unfinished business. “We’ve got a lot of unfinished business,” Sarkisian said during the press conference on Monday. “So I wasn’t entertaining anything that was beyond making sure that I had a really good job here, and I could solidify the job here.”

He could’ve dipped. But something about leading Texas to the promised land has Sark locked in. After all, he didn’t come to Austin to be just another coach. “I’ve been very clear along the way, (I came) to win championships. The mission’s not complete.” And while that’s all good and noble, it’s still clear the NFL is waiting like a wolf at the door.

The way Andy Staples from On3 sees it, Sark’s got all the college credentials—building NFL Draft picks, recruiting beasts for the offensive line, scheming them up to break defenses. But that doesn’t always translate to the pros. And maybe Sark knows that. Maybe the college game just fits his rhythm better. And lucky for Arch Manning, that rhythm’s about to be tested like never before.

Bottom line? Arch Manning’s got a mountain to climb with a new set of receivers, and Sarkisian has to figure out how to turn all that raw talent into a winning machine. If this season is going to be the breakout year everyone is hoping for, it’s going to take more than just hype. It’s going to take real connection, real hustle, and real magic. And everyone’s watching to see if they can pull it off.