Quinn Ewers is heading to the NFL.
After much speculation as to whether the Texas quarterback would enter the transfer portal, where he reportedly had multiple lucrative offers, the junior has decided to enter the 2025 NFL Draft.
Ewers could have gone to the NFL last year, but felt like he needed more time playing in college. He explained his reasoning last week ahead of the Texas-Ohio State showdown at the Cotton Bowl.
“I felt like my time here wasn’t done yet and I felt like I wanted another season here and I wanted to have this feeling again [of playing in the College Football Playoff],” Ewers said. “I just wanted more experience under my belt before I entered the NFL because there’s a line of demarcation with guys that have really successful careers in the NFL, and that’s around 25 starts in college, and I wanted to be able to maximize my potential.”
Ewers started 36 games at Texas, leading the team to a Big 12 championship in its final year in the league, an SEC championship appearance in its debut season and back-to-back appearances in the CFP semifinals. He went 21-5 as a starter the past two seasons and was named second-team All-SEC in 2024. In three years at Texas, Ewers completed 64.3% of his passes for 9,128 yards with 68 touchdowns and 24 interceptions.
Ewers was a former No. 1 recruit in the nation who famously left high school early and reclassified to join Ohio State’s loaded 2021 class. While he did this in order to take advantage of a trailblazing NIL deal, Ewers transferred to Texas after a semester in search of more playing time after backing up C.J. Stroud.
No matter what Ewers did in Austin, however, he never could meet the fans’ hype and expectations. He led the Longhorns to massive road wins at Alabama and Michigan on the way to helping coach Steve Sarkisian rebuild the program into an elite power. But once Arch Manning arrived on campus, fans started clamoring for the backup to take Ewers’ place. Ewers, who became good friends with Manning, never paid any attention to what people said about him on social media, message boards or anywhere else. He only cared what his teammates and coaches thought of him, which helped the QB keep a cool and steady presence on and off the field.
“I’m super proud of Quinn,” Sarkisian said after the CFP semifinal. “I don’t know if he’d ever live up to the standards of what everybody thinks he’s supposed to be. But at the end of the day, all he did was show up every day and work and be a great leader and be a great teammate. And that’s a real credit to him because human nature, in this day and age, is to look at Twitter, to look at Instagram, to look at social media and articles written and fan boards and whatever else.
“But this guy never did that. He fought through everything. Never complained about it one time. And I think that’s why he has so much respect from his teammates.”
Ewers has talked about his maturation at Texas – he’s come a long way from getting his car towed his freshman year, to cutting off his mullet ahead of his second year, and this past season it was clear how much his team respected him. He’s also battled injuries every season, but worked hard to come back each time and lead the Longhorns.
Entering the clash with the Buckeyes, which was a full circle moment for Ewers facing his former team, reports came out that the QB was going to enter the transfer portal after the season. But it would be unfathomable at this point to see Ewers wearing a college football uniform without burnt orange. Playing for the Longhorns was always his dream. The reason he went to Ohio State in the first place was because he could not take advantage of the same NIL opportunities in the state of Texas at that time.
Asked ahead of the Cotton Bowl if he ever thought about being the Buckeyes quarterback since transferring, Ewers responded, “No, sir. This is my dream right here.”
In the 28-14 loss to Ohio State, Ewers went 23-of-39 for 283 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. His career at Texas was largely a success, but the harsh reality is he might be remembered for one of the final plays of that game. The Longhorns failed to execute on first-and-goal from the 1, and ultimately, Ewers was strip-sacked on fourth down by his former Buckeyes’ roommate Jack Sawyer, who scooped up the ball and ran it back 83 yards for a touchdown to give his team a two-score lead with 2:13 remaining.
While that wasn’t the way Ewers hoped to end his college career, he’s ready for his next challenge in the NFL.
Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. She previously wrote for Sports Illustrated, USA Today and The Indianapolis Star. She is the author of “Strong Like a Woman,” published in spring 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Follow her at @LakenLitman.
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