Quinn Ewers: Texas has ‘turned it around’ ahead of 2023 season

Year Two for Quinn Ewers at Texas is a big one. He’s the Longhorns’ starting quarterback once again, and expectations are high as they prepare for their last year in the Big 12 before departing for the SEC.

The offseason will help set the table, and Ewers sounded more than happy about how things have gone during the Manning Passing Academy held at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, La.

“I think our culture’s only been building the past couple years,” Ewers said. “I think we’ve really turned it around this year. We’re a lot more player-led than we were the past couple years. Obviously, we had great leaders as players the past few years. But I think as a whole, we kind of are leaning on each other a lot more than what we’ve [been used to] doing. I couldn’t be more excited about what’s going to happen this year, and we’re all really confident.”

Ewers’ first season with Texas was up-and-down after transferring from Ohio State. He suffered an injury against Alabama and missed two games as a result. Still, he threw for 2,177 yards and 15 touchdowns to help lead the Longhorns to an 8-5 record.

Now, with a year of starting experience under his belt, Ewers is part of an impressive quarterback room in Austin. He joins redshirt freshman Maalik Murphy and former Five Star Plus+ recruit Arch Manning at the position, and as the starter, he’ll play a key role in both players’ developments in 2023.

Of course, playing for a coach like Steve Sarkisian — who most recently helped develop Mac Jones and Tua Tagovailoa at Alabama — also helps. Sarkisian has said Ewers has a chance to be special in Austin as he tries to become the next great quarterback under his watch.

In fact, Ewers said he’s learning quite a bit about playing the position under Sarkisian’s watch. It’s almost like he’s getting another degree.

“Man, he’s a great coach. I love being around Coach Sark. You know, like, I feel like I’m getting a Ph.D. in football quarterback play,” Ewers said. “So, I couldn’t be more excited from for him being my coach and just the relationship we’ve built. It’s been great, and I’m excited to see where it goes.”

Quinn Ewers and the Longhorns will lift the curtain on the 2023 season Sept. 2 when they take on Rice at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium.

The Bengal Tiger’s Shea Dixon and On3’s Justin Rudolph contributed to this report.