With a towel draped around his neck and sweat trickling from his hair, Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers took his final walk off the field as a Longhorn, greeted by the roaring Texas faithful. For a fleeting moment, as applause, whistles and cheers echoed around him, the sting of a College Football Playoff semifinal loss to Ohio State faded into the background.
In its place, the enduring legacy of No. 3 began to take center stage.
“These past three years have been some of the best years I could have imagined,” Ewers said in hisannouncement video. “I’m truly thankful for the opportunity to play football in my home state at the best university in the world.”
Leaving his mark on the program, Ewers went 21–5 for a win percentage of 80.77%. He took Texas to its first two CFP appearances, going back to back in his final two seasons, and finished his career with a 64.9% completion rate.
Ewers retires the burnt orange and white as third in Texas’ all-time passing yards with 9,128 and passing touchdowns with 68.
Before Ewers arrived at the Forty Acres, Texas football had seen some of its darkest days. In the 12 years before Ewers, the Longhorns touched double-digit wins just once, the worst drought since Darrell Royal shook off a 13-season streak in 1961. In Ewers’ three seasons at Texas, he broke 10 wins twice.
Now, Ewers has decided to forgo his final year of NCAA eligibility and pursue his career aspirations further.
“With prayer and careful consideration, I’m officially declaring for the NFL draft,” Ewers said.
According to CBS Sports, Ewers is considered the fourth-best quarterback in this year’s quarterback class, behind Miami’s Cam Ward, Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, and to some experts, Alabama’s Jalen Milroe.
“Ewers is around QB3, QB4 for me in this (year’s) draft,” said Tommy Yarrish, UT alumnus and Cowboy’s beat writer, on the organization’s “The Draft Show.” “I’ve watched every start of his since his freshman season at Texas, and you look at the touch he’s able to put on some of these balls and how easy he makes it look in terms of the motion and getting out of his hands.”
Yarrish also believes Ewers won’t be week-one-ready next season, but with the right fit in the right system, Ewers can make an impact in the NFL down the road.
But for now, Ewers will look to prove himself further at the draft combine and in pre-draft workouts, where the Texas faithful will continue cheering him on.
