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AUSTIN, TX \u2013 SEPTEMBER 19: Quarterback Arch Manning #16 of the Texas Longhorns warms up before the college football game between the Texas Longhorns and UTSA Roadrunners on September 19, 2026, at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, TX. (Photo by David Buono\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Texas\u2019 offensive unit was herky-jerky with quarterback (QB) Arch Manning at the helm against No. 50 UTSA<\/a> (CBS Sports). To make matters worse, the Longhorns came into this game ranked No. 1.<\/p>\n Of course\u23af<\/p>\n I didn\u2019t watch this game from a college football perspective. I viewed it through my \u201cNFL colored glasses.\u201d In other words, I watched how Manning\u2019s performance against the Roadrunners translates to the NFL.<\/p>\n Not too well. <\/p>\n That\u2019s the short answer. <\/p>\n Manning looked like a third-string NFL QB prospect against UTSA, and that\u2019s saying something when you consider the collegiate level of competition. He looked like a conservative natured inconsistent game manager. <\/p>\n What was Manning\u2019s stat line against UTSA?<\/p>\n 17 of 33 (51.5%) for 164 yards with 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions.<\/p>\n Say what? <\/p>\n Yeah, it wasn\u2019t that good.<\/p>\n WATCH TEXAS VS. UTSA BY CLICKING HERE<\/a><\/p>\n Manning barely completed half his passes against the No. 50-ranked college team in the country. <\/p>\n How will that look against the Eagles, Steelers, and 49ers? <\/p>\n That\u2019s the question I ask myself. <\/p>\n NFL positives<\/p>\n Tough<\/p>\n Kept his eyes downfield<\/p>\n Poised<\/p>\n Exhibited patience in the pocket<\/p>\n Showed the ability to pick up chunks of yardage with his legs<\/p>\n NFL negatives<\/p>\n Mostly lined up in shotgun formation<\/p>\n Clapping cadence<\/p>\n Uninspiring methodical pre-snap pace<\/p>\n Low energy level<\/p>\n Bad body language <\/p>\n Hard locks with targets for an extra noticeable moment before throwing<\/p>\n Tendency to throw with too much upper body and arm, attempting to aim and steer the ball as opposed to relying on an equally distributed follow-through<\/p>\n Pro Football Focus Time to Throw: 3.00 seconds<\/a> vs. UTSA<\/p>\n Hot and cold<\/a> <\/p>\n Poor ball security \u2013 four passes broken up (PBUs)<\/p>\n Inconsistent on his second-read throws <\/p>\n Seems to trust his legs more than his throwing arm <\/p>\n Inconsistent protecting his body as a runner (got hit so hard once that his helmet came off)<\/p>\n 0\/4 deep passing attempts (+20 air yards) <\/p>\n Run game carried Manning in this one<\/p>\n The Longhorns had 48 rushing attempts for 228 yards against UTSA; Manning accounted for nine carries for 50 of those yards.<\/p>\n When all else failed, as it often did, Manning reverted to handing the ball off or taking off himself.<\/p>\n I was definitely more impressed with Texas\u2019 running attack than I was with Manning\u2019s passing game.<\/p>\n NFL Takeaway<\/p>\n I was contemplating dropping Manning from a second-round grade to a third-round grade after the game prior against Ohio State, but now I am entertaining a fourth-round grade in the 2027 NFL Draft after watching him lead Texas to a 30-6 victory over UTSA. Fourth round is a low-ceiling developmental grade in my book. <\/p>\n In other words\u23af<\/p>\n Manning has a long way to go from an NFL perspective. <\/p>\n To his defense, his receivers did have difficulty creating separation periodically against UTSA. That weighs on my mind somewhat, but his process is too slow, and his decision-making is suspect. His mechanics and ball placement are off. It didn\u2019t feel like he was connecting with his teammates either. He looked like he was off in his own little world.<\/p>\n Manning seemed more interested in watching the replays of his plays than he did in the plays themselves against UTSA. The cameras kept showing him looking up at the replay after failed plays. I don\u2019t know what\u2019s going on with him, but something is going on. He gave off a vibe of being irritated. It was stronger than I\u2019d ever felt coming from him before.<\/p>\n I felt it, and I saw it on his face. <\/p>\n I felt a strong feeling of irritation myself while watching him play in this game. <\/p>\n Daniel Kelly is a former NFL Scout with the New York Jets. He was hired on the regime which featured Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Scott Pioli, Mike Tannenbaum, and Dick Haley. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief for\u00a0First Round Mock<\/a>, and has written for Sports Illustrated (Lions, Jets, and 49ers), NFL Draft Diamonds, and Yardbarker, as well as appearing as a guest on ESPN Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and Fearless with Jason Whitlock. Featured in USA Today. For more information, visit\u00a0whateverittakesbook.com<\/a>. Follow\u00a0on Twitter @firstroundmock.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Reading Time: 3 minutes AUSTIN, TX \u2013 SEPTEMBER 19: Quarterback Arch Manning #16 of the Texas Longhorns warms…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":443623,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[102746,3230,132,134,133,21873,21874,2470,6183,21875,27,537,4100],"class_list":["post-443622","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-2027-nfl-draft","tag-arch-manning","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news","tag-first-round","tag-first-round-mock","tag-longhorns","tag-nfl-draft","tag-nfl-mock-draft","tag-texas","tag-texas-longhorns","tag-university-of-texas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/443622","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=443622"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/443622\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/443623"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=443622"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=443622"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=443622"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}