Texas has yet to decide on a starting quarterback for Saturday's game, but if Arch Manning is the starting quarterback, Louisiana-Monroe isn't too worried.
Manning played in relief in last week's win over UTSA when Quinn Ewers was sidelined with an abdominal injury, catching four touchdown passes and rushing for 67 yards.
Still, the Warhawks aren't too worried if Manning makes his first start against UL-Monroe.
Defensive coordinator Ernest Hill said Wednesday that many of the players on his team played against Manning in high school.
Manning famously attended Isidore Newman School in New Orleans before coming to the Longhorns.
“We actually have some kids on our team who played against him in New Orleans and have already beaten him.” Hill told reporters earlier this week.So they don't have much fear of him, so they won't have any fear of him coming here.”
Manning, in place of the injured Ewers, threw for 223 yards, his longest collegiate outing to date.
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian spoke this week about his trust in Eli and Peyton Manning's nephew, saying he “understands the system really well.”
“Arch has a really good understanding of what we're trying to do,” Sarkisian said. “We're putting a new game plan in place, but I think he understands the premise of the plays that are in our system. And certainly we dress it up a certain way and in a different way, but I think he has a firm grasp of the premise of those plays, so when he comes in, he'll be able to execute plays at a high level.”
UL Monroe, which started the year 2-0, ranks third in scoring defense in the Sun Belt Division, allowing just 10 points per game so far.
But there are plenty of other challenges ahead when it comes to taking on No. 1-ranked Texas.
