Quinn Ewers brings leadership, confidence, and Heisman buzz into 2024 with sights on taking Texas to great heights

Prior to SEC Media Days, real-life Quinn Ewers had the chance to play as virtual Quinn Ewers while promoting the EA Sports College Football 25 video game’s recent release. The virtual quarterback commanded a life-like playbook well, but the Ewers with the controller noticed something was off about his in-game counterpart.

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“There’s some similarities, but I was playing it the other day,” Ewers said Wednesday at SEC Media Days. “The throws that I know I can make, some of them aren’t being made.”

What the game missed in Ewers’ mind is the confidence and resulting leadership the third-year quarterback brings ahead of the 2024 season, Texas’ first in the SEC. That’s a confidence and ability Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian has noted, and it’s one that has Ewers near the top of Heisman Trophy hot boards just over six weeks until kickoff.

Sarkisian has worked with Ewers the past two years, one an 8-5 campaign in 2022 and another a resurgent 12-2, Big 12 Championship season in 2023. Even with that familiarity, Sarkisian notes that Ewers has evolved into the type of off-field leader a program that has expectations like those on Texas in 2024 requires.

There were comments from Sarkisian about Ewers’ on-field improvement, but the off-field evolution is what has Sark enamored with his starting quarterback entering an incredibly monumental season in the history of the Texas football program. Sarkisian sees a quarterback prepared to be the one others look to during difficult times.

“But the thing I’m probably most proud of him about is his leadership,” Sarkisian said Wednesday. “This guy is exuding confidence right now, and there’s nothing better for anybody in your organization, for anybody in your building to walk in and to say, there’s our guy, and our guy is exuding confidence. He’s carrying himself the right way. He’s doing things the right way, not only on the field but off the field. He’s our leader, and we can unequivocally say that about Quinn Ewers, and I’m proud to have him with us today.”

Ewers mentioned that improving leadership was one of his main goals during the offseason, not just to be confident in his ability to outperform his video game self but to be a real, personable, leader for the football program. That’s something that takes time, and Ewers has made sure to spend quality moments with teammates new and old in order to be the player people inside Moncrief look toward. Those intangible improvements in emotional and vocal leadership have concrete consequences in Ewers’ mind.

“If I do those two things, I think we’ll have a team that will know how to handle adversity and a team that will be mature enough to win big games and continue to be consistent,” Ewers said.

Handling adversity and showcasing maturity that even Ewers would admit he didn’t possess in 2022 would serve him well in a quest for the Heisman. Adversity, specifically in the form of talented defenses he’ll face at Michigan, versus Oklahoma, and against Georgia, is something he’ll have to overcome in order to not only win those games but create the moments a player needs in order to take home the sport’s highest honor.

Ewers isn’t looking to overcome adversity and play well to win the Heisman. He wants to play well for his team, and then do his own thing outside of the facility. Whatever follows, follows.

“I think Quinn is probably like the coolest guy in the room,” Sarkisian said. “He doesn’t get caught up in what a Heisman — if you asked him, would he even know? He’s just not caught up in that stuff. When Quinn gets free time, he’s going to go hunt or he’s going to go fish. When he’s here, he’s going to work, and he’s just working on his craft. He’s being with his teammates.”

Ewers was asked about building rapport with Isaiah Bond, one of three new transfer wide receiver teammates the Longhorns will depend on for production in 2024. Ewers’ answer didn’t lead off with anything about Bond’s ability to run routes or burn past defenders. Rather, it was about how he learned what Bond, Matthew Golden, and Silas Bolden were like off the field in order to earn their trust.

“The older I’ve gotten, that has gotten a lot easier for me, whether that be taking some of the guys out to dinner or just hanging out with the guys,” Ewers said. “Nothing can get you closer than just being around them and hanging around them. There is a lot of new guys in that room and a lot of new faces. It’s been fun to build those relationships and starting building more relationships because they’re really cool dudes.”

Of course, on-field improvement is something Ewers worked on as well. That’s an ongoing process, but it’s one Sarkisian mentioned several times on Wednesday he’s seen Ewers go through successfully ever since falling short against Washington in the Sugar Bowl.

“Do I want more touchdowns, less interceptions, higher completion percentage? Of course, I want all those things,” Sarkisian said. “I think those things are a byproduct of his preparation, a byproduct of the confidence he exudes, the way he goes to work, and his relationship with his teammates.”

If Sarkisian’s thoughts and Ewers own words suggest anything, it’s that those improved stats and team results should show up during the 2024 campaign. Anything else that follows, like an individual accolade, is just extra. Winning as a program is what Ewers is focused on and sought to create with his improved leadership qualities.

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“At the end of the day, I just to take it one week at a time, win every day, win every week,” Ewers said.