The Texas Longhorns pulled off a gutty comeback win on Saturday evening when they overcame a three-score deficit in the fourth quarter to eventually beat the Mississippi State Bulldogs in overtime. However, during that overtime period, the team did lose Arch Manning to injury, and head coach Steve Sarkisian had some telling comments about his status moving forward.
On the first play of overtime, Manning suffered an injury when he was hit by two Mississippi State players while scrambling for a first down. Backup quarterback Matthew Caldwell entered the game in his place, throwing a 10-yard touchdown pass to Emmett Mosley V for what proved to be the go-ahead touchdown.
Now, as Texas prepares for a highly anticipated matchup with the Vanderbilt Commodores, Manning’s status is uncertain, but his coach had some pretty telling comments on Monday.
Manning Missed Practice on Monday
During his Monday press conference, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian confirmed that Manning suffered a concussion during Saturday’s game and was going through concussion protocol.
As a result, Manning missed practice on Monday as he remains in concussion protocol, and his status is uncertain for this week’s game.
“We’ll have more information as the week goes on,” Sarkisian said via KXAN.
These words are telling, as Sarkisian is making it clear that Manning’s status for this week’s game is totally out of his hands.
Confidence in the Backup
If Manning is not able to play this week, Caldwell would start in his place against Vanderbilt, and he has plenty of experience at both the FCS and FBS levels, playing at Jacksonville State, Gardner-Webb, and Troy before transferring to Texas.
Sarkisian expressed a lot of confidence in the veteran backup.
“He’s probably the most engaged player on the sideline,” Sarkisian said.“He’s got a really good relationship with the guys, throws a really good ball, and he’s a guy who has been in a variety of systems. His demeanor and approach during his visit didn’t seem like this was too big for him.”
We’ll have to see whether or not Manning will take the field on Saturday.
About Dave Kelsey
Bets on sports stuff.