Arch Manning was supposed to be Texas’ next big NFL star. Eight games into the 2026 season, however, the quarterback is facing serious questions about whether he is ready for the next level, aka the NFL. The Ringer’s Todd McShay believes the problem goes beyond Manning’s inconsistent play. He pointed to Steve Sarkisian’s play-calling, questioning how much control the young quarterback has over the offense before the snap.

“I also watch Sark’s offense, and I say the play-calling is where I have the issue,” McShay said on The Rich Eisen Show. “What I watched in the last game [October 24] against Old Miss was that he comes out, and it’s pro-style for the first couple of series, and it’s a shotgun three-step drop, balls out, top of the drop, conviction, drill it. Next one, blitz coming.”

“Let’s bubble this, and so playing quarterback, which is so much about empowerment. You have to empower your quarterback. I don’t think Arch has a lot of like power pre-snap. I don’t see him in control of this offense. He’s a joystick at times for Sark’s brilliance… But the play-call timing, I think, has thrown Arch off a lot,” he claimed.

While McShay doesn’t blame Sarkisian entirely, he did question how much control Manning has over the offense. Manning is in his second season as Texas’s full-time starting quarterback. However, his performance hasn’t been up to the mark, which McShay partially blamed on the quarterback himself.

“Then Arch is responsible for his part, whether it’s a lack of confidence or whether it’s not transferring from the practice field to the game field; he’s responsible for it, too, while he’s still developing,” McShay said.

Texas found its mojo back against Ole Miss, but its offensive performance had a lot of gaps in it. Texas went into halftime leading 24-3; however, Ole Miss erased the lead in the second half. Texas committed almost 14 penalties in 134 yards, before eventually winning 34-27.

After scoring 24 points in the first half, Texas struggled to maintain productive offensive possessions in the second half. This wasn’t the first time Texas fumbled in the second half. Against the Gators, the Longhorns led in the first half by seven points but crashed in the second half and lost the game. 

Since the start of this season, the Longhorns’ play-calling has been criticized. With less than two minutes to play against the Gators, Manning was sacked by Florida linebacker Myles Graham to knock the ball loose. Even Sarkisian later admitted that the play-calling needs to be more creative. 

“Yeah, I had a crappy call and the rollout with Arch,” Sarkisian told the reporters. “I didn’t love that the official stood over the ball, but that was a crummy call. I wish I had called something better for him in that situation. If we had won the game or lost the game, I’d have still come up here and told you that was a crummy call.”

Even though Texas has had a reasonably strong start with a 6-2 record and is also ranked No. 7 in the CFP rankings, Manning’s future isn’t as positive as it appeared at the beginning of the season. Questions about Manning’s decision-making and consistency have followed him through an inconsistent year.

Through eight games, the 22-year-old has been sacked more often than he was across all of 2025, and he has already matched last season’s interception total with seven. Injuries have hurt the offensive line, yet Manning has to own part of the sack problem.

That’s why the longtime draft analyst believes Manning should stay in college for another season instead of declaring for the 2027 NFL Draft.

McShay also suggested Manning play under Will Stein, Kentucky’s new head coach and the former Oregon offensive coordinator, whose system he believes could help Manning develop. Until then, he firmly believes Manning will return to college football, delaying his NFL debut by another year.