Quarterback Arch Manning’s second fall camp at the Texas Longhorns hasn’t gone exactly as planned, but the young quarterback appears to be finding his footing at the right time. Though head coach Steve Sarkisian raised concerns about Manning’s inconsistency earlier in the camp, the coach now has a more encouraging assessment of his progress. 

After struggling to establish consistent chemistry with a revamped offensive unit last season, Manning appeared more comfortable with his weapons in the fall camp ahead of the 2026 season. The 22-year-old often lacked the rhythm and timing needed to execute Sarkisian’s offense effectively in the 2025 season. Ahead of the season, however, the QB appears to have developed a stronger rapport with wide receivers and running backs. As a result, the head coach is pretty positive about Manning.

“Well, he’s had a great camp, man,” Sarkisian said, per an X post of Inside Texas on August 25. “I’m pumped about it. I think his rapport with Ryan (Wingo) and Cam (Coleman), and Emmett (Mosley) is really high. I think his rapport with the running backs is really high.”

Sarkisian believes Manning had a “great camp” overall, citing his improved timing with receivers Ryan Wingo, Cam Coleman, and Emmett Mosley V. His growing chemistry with the running backs like Raleek Brown has also become an important part of Texas’ offensive development.

“I mean, those guys are good players, and they can catch the ball, and that takes timing, that takes rapport,” Sarkisian said. “I’m excited for him. I think he’s going to play really well. We’ve got two more weeks to continue to sharpen up, but I’m very excited for where he’s at.” 

That progress showed up in the scrimmage, as Manning connected with Wingo and Mosley for touchdown passes, with Mosley finding the end zone twice. Sarkisian also noted that Manning showed improvement despite having an inefficient start in the second scrimmage.

Manning finished strong, throwing two touchdown passes to Wingo and Mosley while taking 50-plus snaps. Although Sarkisian said Manning could be better, he praised the quarterback’s strong finish as a sign of his continued progress compared to last week’s scrimmage. 

“I thought he had a really good week of practice, and he played very efficiently,” Sarkisian said. “I felt like today, similar to last week at the start, a little bit inefficient. I feel like he could be better. But I love the way he finished.” 

Manning’s first scrimmage last week featured an uneven rotation that disrupted his rhythm. He played one series before sitting for about 30 minutes, returned for red-zone plays, and then waited until the second half to play again. Sarkisian admitted the format was unfair to the quarterback but still saw flashes of high-level play from Manning.

The pattern was similar to last season, as Manning overcame an inconsistent start to finish strongly. He completed 248 of 404 passes for 3,163 yards, 26 touchdowns, and seven interceptions while adding 399 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns, showing the improvement that has raised expectations for his second season as the starter.

However, while Manning’s individual progress is encouraging, Texas still has broader offensive issues to clean up before the season opener on September 5 against Texas State.

Steve Sarkisian Wants More From Texas Offense After Sloppy Scrimmage

While Sarkisian noted that Manning needed to improve on his efficiency, accuracy, and consistency from down to down despite showing slow progress, he was not quite impressed with the offensive unit overall.

“I thought offensively, it was too sloppy for my liking,” Sarkisian said, according to Kirk Bohls of the Houston Chronicle. “I feel like we should be better, more efficient from an offensive perspective. Just too many errors on that side of the ball.”

Texas offense appeared to lose some sharpness in the extreme heat, with physical and mental fatigue contributing to its struggles against Will Muschamp’s defense for the second scrimmage.

“We’re a little fatigued,” he said. “I’ll be quite frank. We’re working hard, and you could feel a little physical fatigue and maybe a little mental fatigue. And that’s not uncommon. Arch is a great kind of microcosm of the team. I think we can be a little more energized, a little more sharp. I think he can, too.”

With the season opener approaching, Sarkisian plans to reduce the workload and shift practices to the morning to help players improve their execution and recover from fatigue.