Alabama's Nick Saban identifies the factor hindering Texas QB Arch Manning's development

The Texas Longhorns have had plenty of eyes on them this season as Arch Manning stepped in as the starting quarterback. There was a lot of hype surrounding him — including from SEC analyst Paul Finebaum, who predicted Manning would lead Texas to a victory over Ohio State in Week 1.

“I am as married to Arch Manning as an old geezer like me can be to a young, great college quarterback, but I like everything about him and I think you said something. The Manning name matters, but it isn’t going to matter that field in a couple of weeks at Ohio State. The experience of being an understudy to Ewers and understanding Sark’s system is what’s going to get them over the top and probably — well, not probably — definitely beat Ohio State in the opener,” Finebaum said.

Instead, Manning has been struggling — and many are now wondering what’s behind his underwhelming performance.

“The Arch Manning reaction is too harsh. He’s only 21 and played against the defending national champions. Deserves time. But missing open receivers as badly as he did here (and all game) is so rough. Strange how he kept side arming it. Injury? Yips? Hmm,” Kevin O’Connor posted.

Former Alabama head coach Nick Saban recently appeared on The Pat McAfee Show and offered insight into what might be holding Manning back from reaching his full potential.

"Nobody has created greater expectations for anybody than what we've all created for Arch Manning. ... I think that creates a lot of anxiety with players and I think that anxiety really hurts their development,” Saban said on the air.

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Saban, one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, seems confident in his diagnosis. Manning undoubtedly has all the potential in the world — but the hype may already be taking a toll on his performance.

There’s still time for Manning to turn things around, but in a few weeks, he’ll face another major test in the Swamp. Texas is counting on him, but if anxiety is the root of the problem, things may not improve on their own.