It was hardly perfect, but Arch Manning absolutely looked comfortable more than he didn’t during his first collegiate start Saturday night for Texas against Louisiana-Monroe (he finished 15-of-29 for 258 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions).
Manning looked firmly in control of the offense, wasn’t confused or overwhelmed by any sort of checks or changes and kept things moving without issue. Texas put Manning in several play-action situations, as the big-armed redshirt freshman continues to throw a pretty deep ball. Manning, like a lot of quarterbacks his age, still defaults at the deepest throw in the concept. He threw one into multiple defenders early and got one picked. He threw one into two more a little bit later and nearly completed it. With more time on task comes more consistent comfort, which should clean up most of the hiccups Manning’s game currently shows.
He’s still a little late with his general pocket processing, especially if the coverage isn’t something he was anticipating or a route gets thrown off-kilter. A lot of that is timing, though, and Manning’s a young backup – so that’s understandable. In general, this will go in the books as a terrific experience for Manning as he was able to put both great throws and correctable mistakes on tape. He’ll gain confidence and learn a ton at the same time.
