After losing their season opener to the Ohio State Buckeyes 14-7, Arch Manning and the Texas Longhorns returned to Austin for their home opener with a quintessential “get right” game. Texas welcomed San Jose State to DKR on Saturday and recorded their first win, 38-7 over the visiting Spartans.
But all is not right in Longhorn Land.
While Manning accounted for five touchdowns in the win over San Jose State — four of those coming through the air and the fifth coming on an impressive scramble for a score — the young quarterback did not play a flawless game against the Spartans. He threw one interception in the 31-point win, and misfired on several throws that had Jesse Palmer talking about his mechanics on more than one occasion.
Then there is this moment:
That grimace has led to speculation that Manning is dealing with an upper-body injury, perhaps something with his shoulder or throwing arm. The quarterback was asked about that moment after the game, and had no explanation for it:
It could be nothing. It could be a reaction to a poor throw. But when Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian was asked about it on Monday, he had another explanation entirely:
Frankly, I think that just leads to more questions than answers.
