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Steve Sarkisian has earned the reputation of being the quarterback whisperer. His résumé is solid. Nobody in their right mind would suggest that Sarkisian is not one of the best quarterback coaches in college football.
We know what his résumé looked like as an assistant coach and head coach at USC. Sarkisian produced an NFL quarterback at Washington. Even though Sarkisian’s stint at Alabama was short, he had a tremendous impact during that brief period. Again, his track record is proven.
However, it’s also fair to say that Sarkisian would benefit from Arch Manning’s success to relive his glory years before Texas.
Don’t jump to the comments section just yet.
Just give me a minute to explain.
When I mentioned Sarkisian’s success before Texas, let’s talk about how special some of the quarterbacks were.
USC (QB Coach/OC 2001–2003, 2005–2008; Head Coach 2014–2015)
Carson Palmer
• Heisman Trophy winner (2002)
• No. 1 overall pick in the 2003 NFL Draft (Cincinnati Bengals)
• Pro Bowl quarterback
Matt Leinart
• Heisman Trophy winner (2004)
• No. 10 overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft (Arizona Cardinals)
John David Booty
• 5th-round pick in 2008 (Minnesota Vikings)
Mark Sanchez
• No. 5 overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft (New York Jets)
Cody Kessler
• 3rd-round pick in 2016 (Cleveland Browns)
• Spent time with Browns, Jaguars, Patriots, Eagles
Washington (Head Coach, 2009–2013)
Jake Locker
• No. 8 overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft (Tennessee Titans)
• Retired early due to injuries
Alabama (Offensive Analyst/OC 2016, OC 2019–2020)
Jalen Hurts (Sarkisian was an analyst and promoted to OC at the end of the season)
• 2nd-round pick in 2020 (Philadelphia Eagles)
• 2024 Super Bowl MVP
Tua Tagovailoa
• No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft (Miami Dolphins)
• Pro Bowl quarterback
Mac Jones
• 1st-round pick in 2021 (New England Patriots)
• Pro Bowl as a rookie
Those quarterbacks were "great."
Only one quarterback Sarkisian worked with at Texas can be described as "good."
The others range from “average to below average,” and I wouldn’t stand on the table and argue with anyone over which label they chose.
Sarkisian inherited Casey Thompson and Hudson Card. Most Longhorn fans are willing to give Sarkisian a pass for the lackluster production from those quarterbacks. Heck, it’s safe to say Sarkisian squeezed every ounce of production he could out of Thompson, who led the Big 12 in passing touchdowns during the 2021 season.
Of course, it took Sarkisian benching Card after his performance against Arkansas for Thompson to become his starting quarterback.
Sarkisian primarily worked with Quinn Ewers the past three seasons. Ewers was viewed as a generational quarterback talent in high school. He had Heisman Trophy odds and was once seen as a no-brainer first-round pick. And to be fair, Ewers will be known as the quarterback of two College Football Playoff semifinal teams.
However, Ewers’ story at Texas ends with him falling to the seventh round in the NFL Draft, which impacts his UT legacy.
It’s fair to mention Maalik Murphy, but he wasn’t around long enough for us to give an objective assessment.
Let’s look at the QB production since Sarkisian’s arrival:
2021
Casey Thompson / Hudson Card
• Thompson: 2,113 passing yards, 24 touchdowns, 9 interceptions, 154.7 passer rating
• 7th-ranked passer in the Big 12 (yards per game)
• Texas had the 7th-ranked passing offense in the Big 12 (225.4 yards per game)
2022
Quinn Ewers / Hudson Card
• Ewers: 2,177 yards, 15 TDs, 6 INTs, 132.56 passer rating
• 5th-ranked passer in the Big 12
• Texas had the 7th-ranked passing offense in the Big 12 (241.4 ypg)
2023
Quinn Ewers / Maalik Murphy
• Ewers: 3,479 passing yards, 22 TDs, 6 INTs, 158.59 passer rating
• 2nd-ranked passer in the Big 12
• Texas had the 3rd-ranked passing offense in the Big 12 (289.1 ypg)
2024
Quinn Ewers / Arch Manning
• Ewers: 3,472 passing yards, 31 TDs, 12 INTs, 148.98 passer rating
• 4th-ranked passer in the SEC
• Texas had the 4th-ranked passing offense in the SEC (278.8 ypg)
From 2021 to 2023, Texas showed a steady climb — more passing yards, better efficiency, and a stronger standing in the conference.
But 2024 brought a different version of Ewers. The touchdown total soared to 31, yet so did the mistakes. His passer rating dipped, interceptions doubled, and the polish that defined 2023 gave way to a more boom-or-bust dynamic.
Sarkisian has undeniably elevated the quarterback room and the passing attack, but there’s still room to go from good to great.
That’s where Manning enters the picture.
Sarkisian may finally have a quarterback at Texas who can compete for the Heisman Trophy, be viewed as one of the best passers in college football, and develop into an eventual high draft pick.
To be honest, I don’t think any of us can envision a world where Manning is not a first-round pick.
Heck, I can’t envision a world where a general manager tells an owner, “Look, I know drafting Manning can earn you a ton of money in ticket sales, make you super rich in corporate sponsorships and merchandise sales, and our team will be at the center of the NFL universe for the next 15 years. But hear me out. There’s this defensive tackle from Ole Miss…”
Enjoy your last day at work, buddy.
Sarkisian’s track record as a developer of quarterback talent is undeniable.
Manning could help him reestablish the success he had before Texas.
Funniest Things You Will See This Week
Diabolical (bad language alert)
Not funny, but their connection will make you smile
I feel judged
We are going to miss the NBA on TNT
Sports On A Dime
1. The First Lady of the Texas Longhorns is Mia Scott. Her postseason performance is something Longhorn fans will remember forever. Scott should never have to buy a drink or a meal in Austin for the rest of her life. She was electric during the Women’s College World Series.
2. QB1.
3. According to my sources, the staff has a lot of confidence in Cole Hutson. I was told Hutson brings significant experience—38 games played with 13 starts—and the staff believes he will fill the void left by Jake Majors without missing a beat.
4. Georgia coach Kirby Smart’s response when asked why he doesn’t have a general manager:
Reporter: When you're recruiting a player, do they ever ask you who your general manager is and what goes into structuring your organization, choosing not to have one?
Smart: “Nobody [recruits] has asked me. We introduce everybody to everybody in the organization. We have people that fill that role. It may be three, four people, including myself, but we're very clear in the roles of our staff members and what they do. They learn that throughout the recruiting process, and we utilize those. What was the other part you asked?
Reporter: Just why you choose not to have that?
Smart: "We do have that. We have people that do that. What does a general manager do in your mind?
Reporter: I think it varies from organization to organization.
Smart: I agree. So we have people that do various things instead of pinpointing the general manager. Because I ask every coach what a general manager does, they all do something different. So, I mean, I can't figure out what you define it as, because when you ask me, what is the general manager does, I want to know what you think it does. Because in the NFL, they do things differently."
5. Smart on the future of undefeated national champions:
“I would like to say yes, you will see fewer. But I would say it's not because of the schedule and the length of the schedule. It would be because of the portal, the lack of depth, and the more parity.
“As soon as I say that - it depends on which way things go in the next six to ten months. You could end up with, you know, some haves and have-nots out there, and ultimately, a team could drive prices and go buy a championship, like you're talking about with a super team.
“I mean, I think we could see that if there's not parity. And we don't really know if there's going to be or not.”
6. Oh, Texas A&M.
7. Texas A&M coach Mike Elko’s response on what went wrong near the end of last season:
“I think it was a lot of things,” Elko said. “I think, you know, one, we were in a situation that we had been in before, and we played back-to-back night games on the road in the SEC as the team, you know- the team that was being hunted. And I don't know that we handled that particularly well, certainly not down at South Carolina.
“I think, you know, Auburn - I think we fought better and competed better. And, you know, and then when you look at it, you know, it comes down to a double-overtime game, and, you know, us just trying to find a way to make another play.
“And then I think we went back and forth, toe to toe, with the team that wound up in the NCAA semifinals and didn’t get the job done in the last one. And so I think each one of them had their own kind of separate piece.
“But I think part of it is—and I've said this before to the team—you know, success is never linear. So when you're trying to build a program from where we were to where we want to be, or where we should be, you want it to go smooth. You want it to go easy. It doesn't always work like that.
“That doesn't mean that things aren't going in the right direction. It just means you’ve got to make some adjustments and fix it moving forward.”
8. Elko on conference championship weekend and possible playoff changes:
“I don't know the formats they're talking about. A lot of this stuff—I've heard about this team playing that team, crossing conferences, within your conferences—I don't know. I know a lot of that's going to be determined by television revenue.
“What’s best for that championship weekend? Is it a play-in game? Is it like your baseball regional, your softball regionals, and you play, try to get yourself in?
“I don't want to devalue the regular season. I do think there's a lot of value in the regular season.
“I don't think a team that—like Texas last year, right? They were the one seed going into the SEC Championship—should be punished. I mean, there's some scenarios out there like, okay, they’ve got a play-in game. I don't know if I agree with that.
“You know, they could play a championship game or they could play a game, but there should be some value to a regular season in terms of what you perform and what you do.
“You don't see a regular-season basketball champion go into the SEC Tournament and then not make the tournament. I mean, it's not going to happen, right?
“We have more limited spots than they do, but I enjoy the SEC Championship. I'm a firm believer in that, but I'm going to support whatever the conference chooses to do in that format.”
9. Try not to buy into the narrative that athletes getting paid is somehow ruining college athletics.
The $2.8 billion settlement finalized on Friday finally ends the free labor system in college athletics and retires the term “student-athlete” as a shield to prevent players from getting paid.
Here’s a portion of ESPN’s story:
"The NCAA will pay nearly $2.8 billion in back damages over the next 10 years to athletes who competed in college at any time from 2016 through present day. Moving forward, each school can pay its athletes up to a certain limit. The annual cap is expected to start at roughly $20.5 million per school in 2025–26 and increase every year during the decade-long deal. These new payments are in addition to scholarships and other benefits the athletes already receive.
“Friday's order is a major milestone in the long push to remove outdated amateurism rules from major college sports. Since 2021, college athletes have been allowed to make money from third parties via name, image and likeness deals. Boosters quickly organized groups called collectives that used NIL money as de facto salaries for their teams, in some cases paying millions of dollars mostly to top-rated basketball and football players. Now, that money will come straight from the athletic departments.
‘It's historic,’ former college basketball star Sedona Prince, one of the co-lead plaintiffs in one of the lawsuits, told ESPN. ‘It seemed like this crazy, outlandish idea at the time of what college athletics could and should be like. It was a difficult process at times ... but it's going to change millions of lives for the better."
10. Three points on the road for Austin FC? I will absolutely take that.
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