The Texas Longhorns entered the 2025 season with more buzz than any team, coming in as the No. 1-ranked program in the preseason AP poll. However, after losing to Ohio State in Week 1, the Longhorns have fallen short of those expectations.
A big part of the struggle has been the poor play of quarterback Arch Manning, who many expected to be one of the top players in the country. Former Texas head coach Mack Brown recently made a demand of current head coach Steve Sarkisian ahead of Texas’s upcoming game against Florida, following Sarkisian’s warning about Manning.
Did Mack Brown Make a Demand to Steve Sarkisian Following His Warning About Arch Manning?
Manning has not lived up to the expectations set for him heading into the season. Through four games, he ranks as the 95th quarterback in college football according to PFSN’s CFB QBi metric, struggling most in Texas’ loss to Ohio State on the national stage.
While Manning has looked better in the weeks following the Ohio State game, those performances came against lesser opponents without much national attention. That will change in Week 6 when Texas travels to Gainesville to face Florida.
Ahead of the game against the Gators, Sarkisian reportedly warned Manning, telling him to stop focusing on the attention around him and instead concentrate on himself and the team.
Sarkisian on Arch Manning: “I think one of the things we’ve been harping on here is that as much as the attention swirls around him, he doesn’t have to play to that attention whether it’s positive, negative, whatever it may be. Focus on you, his teammates, focus on what he needs…
— Inside Texas (@InsideTexas) October 1, 2025
“I think one of the things we’ve been harping on here is that as much as the attention swirls around him, he doesn’t have to play to that attention whether it’s positive, negative, whatever it may be,” Sarkisian said. “Focus on you, his teammates, focus on what he needs to do to prepare, focus on having some fun playing football.”
It’s sound advice, but guidance can only take a player so far. Brown, who served as Texas’s head coach from 1998 to 2013, explained on “The Stampede” podcast that Sarkisian must give Manning confidence during the game, not just in the lead-up, especially against a tough opponent and in the hostile environment he’ll face against Florida.
“You have to really do a great job of managing Arch,” Brown said. “Arch hasn’t played well in this big a ball game. He played great against Sam Houston. Now he’s on the road back on the national scene, he’s in a hostile environment.” He later added, “Sark’s got to say, ‘Okay, what do we do to get Arch confidence.”‘
Brown’s request for Sarkisian will be crucial to Manning’s performance. It will be loud in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium with 88,548 fans screaming at him. Sarkisian will need to call plays that allow Manning to make easy completions early, helping him build confidence throughout the game.
It will be interesting to see if Manning takes Sarkisian’s advice and if Sarkisian follows Brown’s guidance when Texas faces Florida on Saturday, October 4. Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m. ET, and coverage will be on ESPN.
