Ohio State transfer QB Quinn Ewers is officially a Longhorn

For the second time in as many years, quarterback Quinn Ewers is committed to join the Texas Longhorns — the second time around as a transfer quarterback.

On Wednesday morning, Ewers was the first player announced as joining the Longhorns on Early Signing Day.

The long and winding saga of how Ewers ended up with the Longhorns ended Sunday with his commitment, but it started in August of 2020. Ewers unexpectedly committed to join the 2022 class as the cornerstone under Tom Herman and Mike Yurcich. Six weeks later, Ewers decommitted and joined the Ohio State Buckeyes recruiting class shortly thereafter. He then reclassified to the class of 2021 - becoming the top recruit in that class as well - and enrolled at Ohio State in August to capitalize on NIL opportunities and compete in the open quarterback competition.

When the dust settled, he found himself somewhere between No. 3 and No. 4 on the depth chart, with his only action of the year coming in garbage time.

Over the last week, Ewers spent time on campus with the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the TCU Horned Frogs, evaluating his in-state options after making the decision to move closer to home. The final-weekend visit with the Longhorns seemingly sealed the deal for head coach Steve Sarkisian and quarterback coach AJ Milwee, getting the former Longhorn back in the fold.

As a recruit, Ewers was universally regarded as an elite talent, becoming the sixth player to earn a perfect 1.0000 in the 247Sports Composite and just the second quarterback - the other Longhorn legend Vince Young. He’s set to join a quarterback room that Sarkisian has already said is wide-open, needing more consistent play from the position after playing both Casey Thompson and Hudson Card in the 2021 season.

With the addition of Ewers as a transfer, just a day after five-star tackle Kelvin Banks joined the fold, Texas is hoping to surge in the final days before the Early Signing period begins. Closing on elite, game-ready talent will hopefully give the Longhorns what they need to reverse their fortune in 2022 and beyond.

Analysis:

(by Daniel Seahorn from 8/15/2020)

Ewers already possesses good measurables, as he comes in at 6’3, 195 with an athletic frame that will continue to fill out. The physical attributes will never be in question for this kid, as he displays a good arm and good athleticism that show up on tape consistently. Despite only being a sophomore, Ewers always looks cool, calm, and in control. Pre-snap he is able to scan the defense and see what it is giving him to work with and once the ball is snapped, he processes things quickly and is able to get the ball out in a hurry.

Displays good, repeatable mechanics as a passer and shows a lot of comfort working from the pocket. Consistently keeps his eyes down the field even when rushers are closing in on him or when the pocket gets muddied. Has the arm strength to threaten every level of the defenses and shows the ability to dial up the RPMs when making throws from the hash to the numbers. Shows good poise against the blitz and will step into the rush to deliver passes when he knows there will be contact. When forced to throw off platform he shows he still has plenty of arm strength to get the ball to his receivers. Arm strength flashes when he makes throws without being able to step into the throw and when he is moving East/West outside the pocket. Displays the ability to switch arm angles to make throws when necessary. He is not on Patrick Mahomes’ level in that regard, but he definitely has the tool in his back pocket. Displays very good anticipation on timing routes throws with really good touch. Will throw the ball to space or a spot before his receiver has come out of his break or is looking back for the ball and will deliver a strike. Throws a very catchable ball and shows good ball placement. Will often put his receiver in a position to be able to run after the catch with his ball placement. Will gamble at times when it comes to putting balls into tight coverage, but with his arm and zip he can put on passes he can get away with it.

Often operates from a clean pocket and plays behind a good, well coached offensive line so I watched how he performed against top tier opponents like Duncanville and DeSoto and I was not disappointed. Ewers’ game rises right along with the competition he faces, so if you were thinking there would be a drop off there was not. Ewers was up against multiple FBS caliber defenders on both defenses and while he was under more fire than usual, he continued show off what makes him a highly regarded prospect. This speaks a lot to his competitive toughness as a player and bodes very well for his development moving forward to the next level.

When things break down and he must run or when designed on quarterback runs, Ewers displays solid straight-line speed and good quickness to make defenders miss in space. Shows the ability to hurt defenses with his feet if left unaccounted for and shows solid long speed when he hits the open field. Needs to do a better job of protecting himself when he decides to run and when finishing off his runs. Leaves himself open at times for contact and that can become an issue if not checked.

Ewers possesses incredible production playing at the highest high school football classification in the state of Texas. Ended the year with an astonishing 45/3 touchdown to interception ratio as a passer and completed north of 70% of his passes. Also averaged over six yards per carry as a rusher and found the end zone nine more times on the ground. Kept having to remind myself as I was watching his tape that he was only a sophomore so I could keep what I was seeing in context. This kid plays the game an extremely high level and still has two years before he is hitting a college campus. The obvious question at this point is what is he going to do for an encore after the monster sophomore year he just had? When I see guys this good so early I worry about them peaking too early, but there is still plenty of room for growth for Ewers both physically and technically and that should frighten defensive coordinators who have his team on the schedule.