Nick Saban makes prediction on Texas offense with Arch Manning at quarterback

Nick Saban has all the confidence in the world in Texas QB Arch Manning going into the season opener against Ohio State. Manning is now the full time starter for the Longhorns and has a chance to make an early season statement.

With the way Saban sees it, Manning brings a new dimension to the Texas offense, especially with his dual threat ability. Heck, the former Alabama coach said he’s fine with Manning on the field but he wondered if the youngest Manning QB could handle “the rat poison,” considering all of the offseason hype and storylines.

Safe to say, it sounds like the quarterback can do it when it’s all said and done. Sabna recruited him to Alabama when he was still coaching after all!

“I think Arch is going to do a great job,” Saban said on College GameDay. “First of all, the players really gravitate to him. He’s got leadership qualities, but I think you’re going to see a little different type of offense from him, more direct runs, more play action passes, because he’s got a great ability to throw the ball down the field, and his legs are real, to be able to scramble and extend plays. So I got all the confidence in the world in this guy.”

Arch Manning has Nick Saban confident ahead of 2025 season

Manning threw 90 pass attempts last season, completing 67.8% of them. He nearly hit the century mark in yards, having 939 alongside nine touchdowns and two interceptions. Texas strategically used Manning’s legs at times too, for 108 yards and four scores.

At the same time, most of the action came against UTSA and Louisiana-Monroe. Texas fans point out a start did take place against Mississippi State but others will point out how poorly the Bulldogs were last season.
Facing Ohio State is a different test for Manning. Even though the Buckeyes have a new defensive coordinator in Matt Patricia and lost numerous talented players to the NFL, this is still a different beast.

But as Manning prepares for his first true road test at the Longhorns’ starting quarterback in Saturday’s season-opening Top 3 matchup at No. 3 Ohio State, the Texas QB1 admitted he tends to feed off the hate from opposing fanbases. At least when he actually allows himself to hear it.

“I feel like I do a good job of just zoning everything out, but if I hear it, I guess it kind of fires me up,” Manning said during Monday’s player availability in Austin. Spoken like a true Manning.

Whether or not that’ll end up paying dividends in Saturday’s much-anticipated road contest from Columbus will likely depend on what sort of reaction he receives from the Ohio State faithful.“It depends how loud they are I guess,” Manning said with a smile. Texas and Ohio State kickoff at 12:00 p.m. ET.