Arch Manning's QB1 Status Updated by Steve Sarkisian Ahead of No. 19 Texas vs. No. 7 Ole Miss

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian came short Thursday of committing to Arch Manning as his starter past the No. 19 Longhorns' home game against No. 7 Ole Miss this Saturday.

"It just depends," Sarkisian said about Manning's status in a Thursday Zoom call with reporters (h/t the Austin American-Statesman 's Michael Shapiro). "Every game's different.

"I think Arch has had a good week of work. He's prepared himself well, but like the team, we need to play well. So, we'll go from there."

Asked about Manning's attitude in the week leading up to the matchup, Sarkisian attributed what he described as the quarterback's edginess in part to media scrutiny of his struggles.

"At some point he's gotta fight back," Sarkisian said about media coverage of Manning, per Shapiro . "The best way to fight back is playing good football with his teammates and enjoying playing good football with his teammates."

Sarkisian also praised backup quarterback KJ Lacey ahead of Saturday's matchup.

"KJ's a good player. He's dynamic with the ball in his hands. He's a natural passer," Sarkisian said, according to Inside Texas' Evan Vieth .

Sarkisian added there were some "growing pains" in getting Lacey adjusted given his lack of prior playing time but that the four-star 2025 recruit was "coachable" and had "good rapport with his teammates," per Vieth.

The latest comments from the Longhorns coach came after he said Monday that Texas would be sticking with their incumbent starter, but that he needed to see "a better version of Arch Manning" going forward (h/t OnTexas' CJ Vogel ).

Sarkisian also said Monday that Lacey has been taking weekly first-team reps, per Vogel.

Texas was ranked as the AP Poll's top team before conceding consecutive losses to Oklahoma and Florida. Manning's decision-making has repeatedly come into question over that stretch, which was capped off last Saturday by his costly fumble late in the fourth quarter against Florida.

Manning, 22, has struggled with consistency throughout his second full season as Texas' starting quarterback.

Whether he is able to show any progress in this weekend's matchup against Ole Miss could impact whether Sarkisian continues working on his development or considers turning to Lacey down the stretch of the season.