Overview
- Texas confirmed Manning will start after he was left off the SEC availability report Friday night.
- He entered concussion protocol following a hit on the first play of overtime at Mississippi State, a diagnosis Steve Sarkisian acknowledged.
- Manning missed early-week practice, then participated Wednesday and Thursday while listed as questionable before final medical clearance.
- Coverage shifted from a reported game-time decision to confirmation he was cleared, with ESPN noting he had no setbacks during evaluations.
- Graduate transfer Matthew Caldwell was the contingency option and threw last week’s overtime winner; Saturday’s noon ET game on ABC is a ranked SEC matchup with College Football Playoff implications.