Amid a torrent of fans pleading for change and reports from across the board hinting that one may happen, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian refused to play into the idea that he would give up play-calling or that he would bench his starting quarterback, Arch Manning, for a backup.
Unsurprisingly, nearly every question during Sarkisian's weekly game preview press conference focused on the Horns' offensive struggles, the fact that QB2 KJ Lacey was reportedly seeing an increase in first-team reps, and whether Sarkisian would make a change in his own role.
Here's everything he had to say on the Texas offense:
Texas is sticking with Arch Manning at QB1
"Arch can play better for his, ya know. He's our starter, but I need to see a better version of Arch Manning," Sarkisian said. "We need to see a better version of him this week."
Of course, in Texas's two back-to-back losses to unranked opponents, Manning had turnovers in the fourth quarter, seemingly sealing the Horns' fate. Despite his undeniable regression over the last few weeks, Sarkisian is clearly sticking by his guns and keeping Manning as his QB1.
"He's got a chip on his shoulder, and I appreciated it, I liked it," Sarkisian said about Manning's mentality.
Obviously, with how much (understandable) negativity is circulating about Manning and the Texas offense, the Horns' QB1 could be at an all-time low, but he's also dealt with doubters and haters throughout his entire collegiate career.
KJ Lacey has yet to see an increase in first-team reps
On Monday morning, ESPN's Pete Thamel reported that Lacey was expected to receive an uptick in reps with the first team throughout practices leading up to Texas's Week 8 matchup against Ole Miss.
When asked about the report, Sarkisian made sure everyone knew that Lacey always receives first-team reps. When asked if there had been an increase, he didn't play into the possibility of Lacey taking over... at all.
"Not to me, but we'll find out as the week goes," Sarkisian said on Lacey seeing an uptick in reps.
Don't expect Steve Sarkisian to give up play-calling
While no reporter asked the question directly, quite a few made sure to grill Sarkisian on his decisions and play-calling abilities over the last few weeks.
The Texas head coach gave no hint that he was anywhere near giving up the offensive playbook, but did admit that he made a "crummy" call against the Florida Gators on Saturday.
"I didn't love that the official stood over the ball, but that was a crummy call. I wish I'd called something better for him in that situation," Sarkisian said of the Manning roll-out play. "If we would've won the game or lost the game, I would've still come up here and told you that was a crummy call."
Steve Sarkisian provides no update on Colin Simmons, Hollywood Smothers
One of the biggest headlines coming out of the 40 Acres this weekend was the fact that star edge rusher Colin Simmons had gone down with an injury in the fourth quarter. Now, with six days until the Horns play the Ole Miss Rebels, running back Hollywood Smothers could reportedly join Simmons on Texas's injury list.
As per tradition, Sarkisian refused to comment on any player's status, telling the media (once again) to wait until the first SEC availability report came out on Wednesday evening.
"Are you going to do this? Are you going to waste your question on this right now?" Sarkisian said before the question was even asked about Simmons. "I'm giving you a chance to change the question."
When the reporter finally managed to ask if there was an update, Sarkisian simply said. "No."
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