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Quinn Ewers addresses viral Texas QB photo, on-going competition

ns_headshot_2024-clearby:Nick Schultz•07/12/23•

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Quinn Ewers (Photo by Erick W. Rasco /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)

Steve Sarkisian squashed talks of a quarterback competition at Texas immediately after the spring game when he named Quinn Ewers the starter. But that hasn’t stopped the Longhorns from having a different type of quarterback competition — one which resulted in a viral photo.

Ewers, Maalik Murphy, Arch Manning and the rest of the Texas quarterback room showed off their abs in the photo posted late last month. It quickly made its way around college football Twitter, and it turns out it was the result of their competitive drive, according to Ewers.

Then, he said more players started staying after to work on their physique.

“We kind of got addicted to doing abs and hitting biceps and triceps and all that stuff,” Ewers told ESPN’s Pete Thamel at Big 12 Media Days. “It was just fun. The more we did it, we saw more position groups stay in the locker room after. It’s cool to see that.”

There’s clearly a bond between the quarterbacks, which is evident in their friendly competition this offseason. That could help translate on the field as Ewers enters the year as QB1 and Murphy presumably as QB2. Manning, in turn, will be QB3 on the depth chart.

Ewers talked about the relationship he has with the other quarterbacks during the Manning Passing Academy last month. They’re all close, and their bond is continuing to grow as the season gets closer.

“Me and Arch are great buddies. I’ve known him — I got to know him pretty well in the recruiting process. We’ve only grown in our relationship. Like you said, we have a great relationship,” Ewers said. “We get along well. The whole quarterback room is just such a great group of guys. No one is trying to undercut somebody or try to get ahead in certain ways. We are just a good group of guys, great buddies. We’ve been hanging out together. Those are like my best friends, the people in the quarterback room.”

Ewers is preparing for his second season at Texas and his third in college football after starting his career at Ohio State. He showed flashes last season before an injury impacted things, but he still threw for 2,177 yards and 15 touchdowns in 10 games.

He’s also bringing in more confidence this season, thanks in large part to Sarkisian naming him the starter so quickly.

“I can see the difference in how we carry ourselves, whether it’s summer workouts or spring ball, just I think this offseason we really bought in to what the players are saying, what the coaches are saying and really we’re just all on the same page,” Ewers said. “I’m ready for the season.”

On3’s Andrew Graham and Matt Connolly contributed to this report.