Texas football Quinn Ewers has confirmed whether he will return to Austin after this season or enter the NFL Draft. A projected first-round pick, Ewers has played three years under head coach Steve Sarkisian after transferring from Ohio State. Despite the brief quarterback controversy with freshman backup Arch Manning, Ewers has had a stellar third season with the Longhorns. Texas football is ranked No. 3 in the College Football Playoff rankings and controls its destiny to win the SEC outright.
With all this success, the redshirt junior is “expected” to play his last games in Austin and declare for the 2025 NFL draft when the season ends. Hook’em Headlines reporter Andrew Miller confirmed the news.
Because of Quinn Ewers, Texas is back
Despite some occasional struggles throughout his career, Ewers has brought Texas football back to where the programs expect it to be: contending for championships. Going into the 2023 season, the Longhorns hadn’t won more than ten games or a conference title since 2009 under Mack Brown. Third-year coach Steve Sarkisian and Ewers broke that drought, winning the Big 12 title, twelve games, and qualifying for the College Football Playoff for the first time.
Even with last season’s success, there were still some questions for the Longhorns heading into this year. Texas football was moving from the Big 12 to the SEC, a considerable step up in competition. In addition, Steve Sarkisian’s program finally had hefty expectations heading into 2024 as the No. 4 team in the country. The Longhorns have lived up to those expectations, currently sit at 9-1, and are safely in the inaugural twelve-team playoff. Ewers at QB was the foundation Texas needed to finally be back.
Sarkisian’s program will undoubtedly miss the junior signal caller. However, the Longhorns should be confident about their future at QB. 2023 five-star recruit Arch Manning has been the backup for most of this year and succeeded when called into action. The son of Cooper Manning and nephew of legendary quarterbacks Peyton and Eli, Arch already has fans buzzing over the limited action he’s seen. In six games and three starts, he’s thrown for nine touchdown passes and two interceptions with a stellar QBR of 80.1.
The Longhorns are ultimately secure at the most important position in sports. However, Quinn Ewers has plenty of work to do in his last few games with the program. Texas football still has two more games on its schedule that could make or break its season.
The first is at home against a struggling Kentucky program. After that, the Longhorns have a fateful matchup at No. 15 Texas A&M. The two historic rivals have not met since 2011. While that fact would be enough to raise the stakes for this showdown, considering the College Football Playoff implications, this might be the most important regular-season game of the year.
The Longhorns and Aggies are currently the SEC’s first and second-place teams. However, the loser of this contest would tie with four conference foes: Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, and Ole Miss.
Neither Texas nor Texas A&M has beaten any of those teams this year. In addition, the Longhorns lost to Georgia at home in October. So, a loss for either team means they won’t make the conference championship game. A scenario that is especially damaging because both teams need a signature win.
Texas football has not beaten a single team currently in the top 25. Texas A&M has beaten one team in the rankings, No. 23 Missouri. Both teams desperately need a signature win to hang their hat on if they don’t win the SEC championship. Therefore, while Quinn Ewers’ legacy at Texas football is safe overall, he has a huge chance to become a true Longhorn legend over the next few weeks.
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