Three days until Texas Football: Quinn Ewers enters an all-important Year 2 ready to excel; Larry Turner-Gooden seeks opportunity

Inside Texas is putting a new twist on long-time photographer Will Gallagher’s time-honored countdown to Texas football kickoff. In addition to Will’s great pictures, the Inside Texas staff will go through every player on the roster by jersey number and offer a season outlook on each, from five-star to walk-on. 

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We’ll also look back at other greats to wear that day’s number, with special reverence to some of Texas’ best. 

Today is three days until kickoff. No. 3 for the Longhorns this season will be worn by Quinn Ewers, a sophomore quarterback, and Larry Turner-Gooden, a redshirt freshman defensive back.

Quinn Ewers season outlook

Quinn Ewers’ offseason has been one of the biggest storylines surrounding the Longhorn program for on-field and off-field reasons. By all accounts, Ewers has done everything necessary to become a leader in the program and, more importantly for Texas, a better quarterback.

“I feel a whole lot better,” Ewers said Monday. “We’re all pretty fired up inside the building for it to finally be game week. I feel like we’ve been talking about how excited we are to play and to finally start getting ready for the game has been really exciting.”

Ewers worked to reshape his body ahead of spring football practices, and it helped him earn the starting job coming out of the Orange-White game. He said Monday this offseason wasn’t as hard on his body as it was last year.

He also worked to refine his mechanics, a process that started during Alamo Bowl prep. He mentioned an emphasis on staying off his toes and keeping better balance in the pocket.

The real test that’ll show how much progress was made in the offseason will come Saturday when the season begins versus Rice. What did Ewers learn from the tests he went through last season?

“Last year, I learned a whole lot that I will be taking with me this year,” Ewers said. “We made it through some adversity. Obviously, the season didn’t end up how we wanted it too, but I think now that we know what happens and what it feels like to not have things to go the way you planned, I think it’s good for us to be able to take a step back, take a couple of deep breaths, and be able to bounce back from that instead of just holding it in a negative way.”

As far as his game goes, Ewers is likely to have more placed on his shoulders within the offense. No longer does he have Bijan Robinson or Roschon Johnson to lean on, though Jonathon Brooks and CJ Baxter will provide quality play in the run game. Ewers will be asked to distribute the football to Xavier Worthy, Adonai Mitchell, Jordan Whittington, and Ja’Tavion Sanders, a responsibility that includes completing downfield passing targets that fell incomplete last season.

It’s a big year for Ewers, and all that’s left for him to prove is that the offseason progress will lead to great in-season performances.

Ewers was named the starter at quarterback before last season after transferring from Ohio State and winning the job in preseason camp. He played in and started 10 games for the Longhorns, completing 172-of-296 passes (58.1 percent) for 2,177 yards, 15 touchdowns and six interceptions. His passing yards were the fifth-most for a Texas freshman QB and the 22nd-most in Texas history.

Ewers earned honorable mention Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year in 2022 and was a 2022 fourth-team All-Big 12 Preseason selection by Athlon Sports. He is a three-time member of the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll (spring 2022, fall 2022, spring 2023).

Quinn Ewers as a recruit

Larry Turner-Gooden’s season outlook

LTG was a late addition to Texas’ 2022 class. His four appearances last year were in blowouts, with the Alamo Bowl appearance as the lone exception.

Turner-Gooden may find conventional snaps hard to come by this year with a safety two-deep that has proven experienced and tough to crack. He’ll likely be asked to contribute on special teams and be prepared for action should something happen at the top of the depth chart.

Turner-Gooden played in four games last year including the Alamo Bowl against Washington. He is a two-time member of the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll (spring 2022, fall 2022).

Larry Turner-Gooden as a recruit

Recent player to wear No. 3: Chris Ogbonnaya

Ogbonnaya was a versatile, hard-running three-year letterman who appeared in 47 games at running back and on special teams. He played both tailback and fullback and was also a tremendous blocker, earning second-team Academic All-America honors by ESPN The Magazine in 2008.

Ogbonnaya was a 2008 Draddy Trophy (Academic Heisman) semifinalist. He carried the ball 140 times for 597 yards (4.3 ypc) and eight TDs and made 75 receptions (No. 3 on UT’ s all-time list for RBs) for 792 yards (also No. 3 on UT’s all-time list for RBs) and three TDs. He might be best remembered for establishing career highs in rushes (15) and rushing yards (127) against No. 1 Oklahoma in 2008.

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All-Americans to wear No. 3

Derrick Hachett, DB, 1979

Mossy Cade, DB, 1983

Nathan Vasher, PR/CB, 2001, 2003 

Jordan Hicks, LB, 2014

Joe Cook co-authored this article