Georgia football is gearing up for one of the biggest games of their season as the Texas Longhorns are coming to Athens for a top 10 matchup this weekend. While there are countless players Georgia needs to be conscious of during this game, it’s impossible to not focus on quarterback Arch Manning the most.
Manning is in the middle of his first full season as Texas’s starting QB, but his tenure as the starter got off to a rough start. But he has really turned a corner this past month and has finally hit his stride just in time for Texas to make a late push for a spot in the College Football Playoff.
During Kirby Smart’s Monday press conference he was asked about Manning’s recent improved play, and he detailed why he will be a difficult quarterback for Georgia to defend.
"Yeah, he's playing with more confidence,” Smart said via 247sports.com. “Number one, he's getting better protection. He's seeing things well. He's making good decisions. He's getting the ball out of his hand quickly. I mean, he's maturing. He's had an opportunity to play and grow, and you don't really get that until you get out there and play.”
Kirby Smart details the immense challenge Georgia will face against Arch Manning
As mentioned, Manning got off to a pretty rough start to his career as Texas’s starter, but a lot of that had to do with the media hype surrounding him. In reality he did just fine as a first time starter, but the expectations placed on him were nearly impossible to live up to.
So while everyone counted Manning out after his slow start to the season, he put his head down and got better each and every week. Now he is beginning to look more like the player everyone expected him to be, which is a little unfortunate for Georgia.
But Georgia has the tools to be able to slow down Manning and the Texas offense. And after a solid performance against Mississippi State this past weekend, they should have more confidence in themselves than they’ve had all season. But this matchup will not be easy for them as Smart explained in the above statement, but Georgia’s defense should expect to play really and help lead UGA to what would be one of their biggest wins of the season.