Quinn Ewers became a better leader because "it just makes everything a lot easier"

Quinn Ewers knows there’s a lot expected of him this year. A third-year quarterback entering his fourth season in a college football program, Ewers is not only familiar with the ins and outs of the sport but also the expectations associated with him based on his past as a mullet-wearing NIL darling with a lofty ranking as a recruit.

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To meet those expectations, Ewers understood he needed to make strides in the various aspects of quarterback play like footwork, arm strength, decision-making, and more. Ewers himself even highlighted on Tuesday how he believed his acumen in drop-back passing had taken a step forward.

But the most important strides for Ewers in his mind were intangible. He understood he needed to become a leader for the Longhorns after veterans like Ja’Tavion Sanders, Christian Jones, Xavier Worthy, Jordan Whittington, Keilan Robinson, Jonathon Brooks, and Adonai Mitchell moved on from the 2023 Longhorns.

It’s not always been something that’s come easy to Ewers, but it’s an area he feels much stronger in entering the 2024 season.

“At the quarterback position, I really don’t have a choice to be a leader of this team,” Ewers said Tuesday night. “Those are the shoes that I have to wear. I had to learn that. For sure, it didn’t come easy for me at first. I had to learn ways to get to my teammates and find ways to fire them up and figure out what makes them tick. I think that’s been the biggest thing for me: the relationships that I’ve built that have helped me become a better leader for the team.”

Typically reserved in press settings, Ewers provided introspective honesty during a Zoom with the media after the Longhorns’ Tuesday practice. He spoke about how simple gathered experience has helped him become more comfortable as a leadership figure both on and off the field.

His interactions with younger players have not only revealed his responsibilities, but also made it easier to encourage others to live up to the standards Texas wants to meet this season. The Longhorns are a top-four team in nearly every major poll, and there’s a lot of pressure on Ewers to lead Texas to a point where they meet, if not exceed, those expectations.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian believes Ewers has done all the right things during the long offseason since the Longhorns fell 12 yards short of the national championship game in January, and it’s made an impact on how the Southlake (Texas) Carroll product performs on and off the field as he looks to build rapport with a new crop of receivers.

“I think naturally Quinn’s understanding schematically of what we’re doing is helpful because he’s almost an extension of us on the field,” Sarkisian said Monday. “He can talk through things with players, a receiver based on a coverage — how he would like it to go and where a guy should be and in what spot. That just goes backs to Quinn’s leadership and his maturation. Not the player, but the person.”

A recent conversation Ewers had with another teammate who had five-star billing illustrated how much the maturation Sarkisian spoke about has helped No. 3 blossom as a leader.

“I was just talking to Colin (Simmons), he’s in the locker right across from me, and I was asking him how old he was,” Ewers said. “He said 18. Me saying 21 back just doesn’t feel right. It definitely makes things a whole lot easier for sure. I feel like I’ve got a lot of playing time under my belt and a lot of experience. I get to share that with some of the younger guys. It just makes everything a lot easier.”

Ewers has seen his skills as a leader tested in recent days. The Longhorns lost two running backs in CJ Baxter and Christian Clark for the season due to injuries suffered in practice. During the grind of fall camp, especially as the Longhorns are exactly two weeks into the preseason, devastating injuries like the ones suffered by Baxter and Clark can impact the psyche of the team.

Leaders do their best to bring others along with them, and Ewers has attempted to be a beacon for his teammates in the midst of some difficult times and be a confident supporter of the players who might take over larger responsibilities.

“The team definitely needs that positivity every now and then whenever guys like that go down in that room,” Ewers said. “At the end of the day, I think we’ve got guys that are more than capable of stepping in and filling up those roles.”

As Texas has progressed through training camp and moves into a phase where depth chart positions are beginning to be determined, Ewers has been the steady influence on and off the practice and playing fields successful programs need, especially at the quarterback position.

It’s all part of a multi-year maturation process as a leader that Sarkisian has seen bear fruit during the Longhorns’ month of August.

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“I think he’s a lot more comfortable doing those types of things,” Sarkisian said. “It’s needed, and I think it’s definitely paying off.”