{"id":257120,"date":"2026-04-19T18:46:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T18:46:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/257120\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T18:46:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T18:46:19","slug":"arch-manning-played-sparingly-but-other-longhorns-starred-in-scrimmage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/257120\/","title":{"rendered":"Arch Manning played sparingly but other Longhorns starred in scrimmage"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the 15,000\u00a0Texas football<\/a>\u00a0fans who braved the drizzly weather Saturday, the final spring scrimmage provided an opportunity to watch face of the franchise\u00a0Arch Manning <\/a>throw it around a bit while future stars got some shine as well.<\/p>\n

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At first, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian<\/a> and AD Chris Del Conte planned going to hold the traditional Orange-White game but switched course earlier this month in favor of a 70-play scrimmage at Royal-Memorial with a few autographs, selfies and a kissed baby or two.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Spring football is more about installation and orientation but Saturday was an opportunity for several thousand eyeballs to grab a glance at the local tackle football team before they get back in the gym for the summer.<\/p>\n

\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian talks to quarterback Karle Lacey Jr. (9) during practice on fan day at Darrell K Royal\u2013Texas Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Aril 18, 2026 in Austin.<\/p>\n

Aaron E. Martinez\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n

The goals are always the same:\u00a0<\/p>\n

1. Get the freshman and transfer portal additions acclimated to the offensive and defensive playbooks.<\/p>\n

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2. Gauge which\u00a0unprovens have the most potential to contribute in the fall.<\/p>\n

3. Don\u2019t get anybody hurt.<\/p>\n

Sign up for Ced’s Corner\u00a0<\/p>\n

Don’t forget to sign up for Cedric Golden\u2019s newsletter <\/a>for hot takes and expert analysis each Tuesday on Texas Longhorns football and beyond. \u00a0It’s called Ced\u2019s Corner, from the mind of the American-Statesman\u2019s resident sports columnist.<\/p>\n

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\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian and quarterback Dia Bell (6) exit the tunnel ahead of practice on fan day at Darrell K Royal\u2013Texas Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Aril 18, 2026 in Austin.<\/p>\n

Aaron E. Martinez\/Austin American-Statesman\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian yells instructions during practice on fan day at Darrell K Royal\u2013Texas Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Aril 18, 2026 in Austin.<\/p>\n

Aaron E. Martinez\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the one weekend of the year when the football team is its most fan friendly before they go into fight mode before the Sept. 5 season opener against Texas State.<\/p>\n

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MORE CED: Why Will Muschamp came back to Texas<\/a><\/p>\n

How much did Arch participate?<\/p>\n

We already knew what Manning could do long before this open practice, so this spring was never about him since he spent most of these last few weeks recovering from minor\u00a0offseason foot surgery. He tossed a few passes during drills at the beginning of the two-hour showing but once scrimmaging began, he gave way to backups KJ Lacey and\u00a0MJ Morris.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) talks to receiver Cam Coleman (8) during practice on fan day at Darrell K Royal\u2013Texas Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Aril 18, 2026 in Austin.<\/p>\n

Aaron E. Martinez\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n

Most of the big names \u2014 Manning, edge rusher Colin Simmons and wideouts Cam Coleman and Ryan Wingo \u2014 were in spectator roles. The quarterback admittedly isn’t a fan of sitting but he understands the reasons behind keeping him out.<\/p>\n

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“It was kind of hard on me, because I’m used to playing football,\u201d Manning said about sitting out. \u201cIf you’re not in football, you’re in basketball or you’re in baseball. Just always being active and not being able to run or do anything was a little bit challenging. But I think it was good rest for my body.<\/p>\n

BASEBALL: Volantis, Horns dominate Alabama in Game 1<\/a><\/p>\n

Manning has the whole summer to get to 100% \u2014 and he\u2019s close \u2014 but patience is the key even if he\u2019s aching to get in there with the live bullets flying (no mind if they are blanks from a scrimmage).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Championships aren\u2019t won or lost in April. Arch\u2019s time will come soon enough. After the Horns finish with the Bobcats, they get the rematch we\u2019ve all be waiting to discuss in the Ohio State Buckeyes. For those who have blocked it mentally, I apologize for revisiting a unpleasant memory but Manning completed 17-of-30 passes for 170 yards in Columbus with one touchdown, an interception 38 rushing yards on a forgettable day for the offense that converted only 1 of 5 fourth-down attempts. That partially explains how they lost 14-7 despite holding the Buckeyes to only 238 yards of offense.<\/p>\n

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As for the backups, Lacey looked great. He connected with freshman Jermaine Bishop for a couple of touchdowns and showed some poise in the pocket. Sophomore Daylan McCutcheon also had a fine day with a nifty 14-yard diving grab off a Lacey spiral.<\/p>\n

\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas Longhorns receiver Cam Coleman (8) walks the field during practice on fan day at Darrell K Royal\u2013Texas Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Aril 18, 2026 in Austin.<\/p>\n

Aaron E. Martinez\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n

How did the newcomers fare?<\/p>\n

This was the first public glimpse of running backs Raleek Brown and Hollywood Smothers and while both showed some nice wiggle, we didn’t see many chunk plays in the run game. Sarkisian schemed to bring in more explosive runners on an offense that saw it’s national rushing rank drop from 71st to 90th over the last two seasons.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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The aforementioned Bishop and McCutcheon had their moments. They’ll play behind Coleman and\u00a0Wingo, who could form the most explosion pass-catching duo in the country and the best at Texas since Jordan Shipley and Quan Cosby back in 2008. Coleman is a wiry type who has pogo stick legs that give him the ability to high point contested passes. We won\u2019t see this offense at full strength until the fall but it should be well worth the wait.<\/p>\n

Emerging talent at tight end\u00a0<\/p>\n

The fan base had hoped tight end Jack Endries would return for one more season but the former Cal standout decided to enter the NFL draft. The competition is wide open veteran Spencer Shannon is back for Year 3 having added 45 pounds to his frame. Now a sturdy 265 pounds, he will be an obvious factor in the run game as Sark often deploys tight ends as blocking backs but he turned some heads with a nice 15-yard catch and run, including a broken tackle.<\/p>\n

\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas Longhorns defensive tackle Hero Kanu (93) warms up ahead of the Citrus Bowl against the Wolverines at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida, Dec. 31, 2025.<\/p>\n

Sara Diggins\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n

The big boys up front\u00a0<\/p>\n

Defensive line coach Kenny Baker goes into the fall knowing he has some experience up front, especially in the interior where Hero Kanu is the most accomplished starter returning, though Baker told him in a offseason heart to heart that he can\u2019t rest on what he did in 2025.<\/p>\n

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Juniors Maraad Watson and Alex January have plenty of reps on their resume\u2019 but it’s the time to take that important next step in their development. Longhorn alumni like T\u2019Vondre Sweat, Byron Murphy II and Alfred Collins made huge jumps over their last couple of seasons at tackles and are having some nice NFL careers.<\/p>\n

Keep an eye on freshman edge\u00a0rusher Richard Wesley, who showed a nice first step on more than one occasion. It will be an interesting battle on the side opposite Simmons.<\/p>\n

What it all means<\/p>\n

Numerous position battles that will take place between now and the opener. A final big scrimmage, while grossly overcooked at times, is a nice tool that allows coaches to get a bead on how newcomers react to the closest thing to live action in the offseason.<\/p>\n

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The Horns have plenty of talent but it’s the ones we don’t really know about that could mean the difference between a good season and a great one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For the 15,000\u00a0Texas football\u00a0fans who braved the drizzly weather Saturday, the final spring scrimmage provided an opportunity to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":257121,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[3230,132,134,133,11511,261,96710,3231,537,536],"class_list":{"0":"post-257120","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-austin","8":"tag-arch-manning","9":"tag-austin","10":"tag-austin-headlines","11":"tag-austin-news","12":"tag-cedric-golden","13":"tag-college-football","14":"tag-columnist-opinions","15":"tag-steve-sarkisian","16":"tag-texas-longhorns","17":"tag-texas-longhorns-football"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=257120"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257120\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/257121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=257120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=257120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=257120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}