QB Ewers to return for junior season
Quinn Ewers made it official: He’s returning for a third season at Texas.
The Longhorns’ starting quarterback announced Thursday via social media that he will return for his junior season instead of opting for the NFL draft.
Under Ewers, Texas won the Big 12 title in 2023 and made the College Football Playoff for the first time. He also led the Longhorns to a signature 34-24 win over Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Texas’ 2023 season came to an end on New Year’s Day with a 3731 Sugar Bowl loss to Washington in a CFP semifinal. Ewers completed 24 of 43 passes for 318 yards and a touchdown against the Huskies, but the Longhorns weren’t able to score in the final seconds from inside the Washington 15.
Ewers finished his second year at Texas with 3,479 yards, 22 passing touchdowns, six interceptions and a 69% completion rate. Ewers made significant improvements in 2023, throwing for 1,302 more yards and seven more touchdowns than he did in 2022. He also had five rushing touchdowns in 2023, compared to one in 2022.
Early in the season, Ewers had been projected as a first-round pick, but he was considered a second-rounder in later projections.
“I want to be the quarterback who worked every year to get better,” Ewers said to ESPN’s Pete Thamel. “The quarterback who loved his teammates, the quarterback who won a lot of football games and brought Texas football back to the top of college football, where it belongs.”
While Ewers’ return is a major boost for the Longhorns, other offensive positions will look quite different.
Three of Texas’ leading wide receivers are gone. Xavier Worthy and Adonai Mitchell declared early for the draft, and Jordan Whittington graduated. Tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders and star running back Jonathon Brooks also opted early for the draft. However, the Longhorns added receiver Matthew Golden from the Univesity of Houston in the transfer portal and signed receiver Ryan Wingo, a five-star prospect.
Ewers’ return will create an interesting quarterback dynamic for the Longhorns. Arch Manning, the nation’s top class of 2023 recruit. played in two games this past season and is waiting in the wings. Manning, the grandson of longtime NFL QB Archie Manning and the nephew of Super Bowl-winning QBs Peyton and Eli Manning, served as the No. 3 QB in 2023 behind Ewers and Maalik Murphy, who led Texas to two wins when Ewers was injured but has since transferred to Duke. Since he played fewer than four games, Manning likely will use a redshirt for 2023 and have four years of eligibility left.
Ewers has been injured in each of his seasons in Austin. He missed three games in 2022 with an injury to his non-throwing shoulder and then two games in 2023 after hurting his right shoulder against UH.
Cy-Fair’s Trey Owens signed in December and could potentially act as third-string quarterback.