'Rough' time behind him, Quinn Ewers is more at home while in the thick of the Texas QB battle

The last year of Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers‘ life has been eventful. In the span of less than a year, Ewers graduated early from Southlake (Texas) Carroll, enrolled at Ohio State, signed Name, Image, and Likeness deals, played a handful of snaps for the Buckeyes, entered the transfer portal, set out on another recruitment, and enrolled at Texas.

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His arrival in Austin marked the end of a journey many would love the opportunity to take but was tumultuous to navigate nonetheless. Before getting to UT, he went through a few months in Columbus, Ohio as a Buckeye that Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian described as “rough” at Big 12 Media Days.

“That’s not your traditional experience in comparison to forging and developing really good relationships with kids in your recruiting class, everybody showing up and moving into your dorm the same day, going out to practice and having your struggles because the system is new, but so is the guy in the locker next to you because it’s his first day as well, that you’ve got people to lean on,” Sarkisian said. “I just don’t think he had that experience.”

His arrival at Texas in January more closely fit the bill of the typical early enrollee experience. He went through the adjustment period that befalls every newcomer, but did so at the same time as his classmates instead of by himself in August camp in Columbus. That group of Longhorn newcomers then went through spring ball, with Sarkisian noting the former Five-Star Plus+ quarterback was very diligent and coachable throughout 15 spring practices. And now, Ewers finds himself more at home while in the thick of a battle to be the starting quarterback during his first season as a Longhorn.

The time Ewers has spent in Austin has made him appear far more comfortable to the head coach who will decide whether the heralded signal-caller will take the first snaps under center for the Longhorns on September 3.

“You see it now in the summer to where a lot of things that may have been an issue in spring ball aren’t nearly as much of an issue now in the summer,” Sarkisian said.

Teammates have seen Ewers make considerable progress, too, but that on-field progress was preceded by his effort to make off-field connections with current Longhorns.

“Now that he’s here at Texas, I even told him this is where you’re at right now,” Bijan Robinson said at Big 12 Media Days. “You need to come in here and prove to everybody who you are as a person first, and then when you get on that field, just be the guy you’ve been blessed to be. It’s been good to have him here. Now that we’re here in the summer, everybody is acclimated with him and comfortable with him.”

On a team that is lead by its two star running backs, the endorsement of Ewers’ effort by Robinson is an important one. Both the starting tailback and the head coach also have additional data from summer skill workouts with coaches present on which to base their evaluations. Those skill workouts provide Sarkisian with more opportunity to see the quarterback position, one he calls the most important in sports..

“I get to be on the field with these guys a couple of times a week watching them throw, working on specific things, and so we can see the development of both,” Sarkisian said. “I still definitely owe them both the time to watch them put the pads on and do it, but I just don’t think it’s going to take quite as long. We’ll see though, you never know.”

While Sarkisian is always careful to mention Hudson Card as part of the current quarterback battle, most of the questions he fielded about the position at Big 12 Media Days centered around Ewers. In those answers, he offered some individual praise to the redshirt freshman.

“He loves the game,” Sarkisian said. “He loves to play quarterback. He wants to be coached. He wants to be coached hard, and he wants to work at his craft. You see the work he’s putting in because the play has improved.”

Whether that results in Ewers being named the starting quarterback remains to be seen. However, that opportunity plus a more enjoyable college experience has Ewers primed for the competition that begins in earnest on August 4.

“He’s been a great addition to this team,” Robinson said. “I know he’s young, but he’s learning at a fast pace. He’s starting to get the offense down. He’s just comfortable back there.”