How big of a threat is Texas Tech for QB Quinn Ewers?

On Dec. 5, a Big 12 foe of the Texas football program hosted the former elite five-star Southlake Carroll quarterback and Ohio State Buckeyes transfer Quinn Ewers. The recent entrant to the NCAA Transfer Portal took a visit with the Texas Tech Red Raiders and newly hired head coach Joey McGuire on Dec. 5.

The Texas Tech visit was the talk of the town around the Forty Acres to cap the weekend. It was first reported by Steve Wiltfong of 247Sports on Dec. 5 that Ewers would be taking this visit to Lubbock, TX, to cap the weekend.

And what added to the smoke behind the traction between Ewers and the Red Raiders was the fact that former Texas Tech star quarterback Patrick Mahomes tweeted out “WreckEm” just after the news came out on Dec. 3 that Ewers would be entering the transfer portal.

The fact that Ewers ended up on a visit to Lubbock on Dec. 5, which came roughly 48 hours after Mahomes tweeted “WreckEm” added to the concerns that there could be something here. Mahomes and Ewers both have ties back with the former Texas Tech GA and current Western Kentucky OC Zach Kittley.

And according to a report from The Football Scoop earlier in the week, Kittley is one of the “leading candidates” for the Texas Tech offensive coordinator job. That could be a connection to watch moving forward in the recruitment of Ewers out of the portal.

There is also the connection between Mahomes and Ewers that they workout with the same trainer in Bobby Stroupe.

How realistic is it for Quinn Ewers to land at Texas Tech over Texas football?

I believe the last major point to hit on as a reason why Texas Tech could have some real traction with Ewers is the potential for NIL deals from some of the newer big-time boosters in Lubbock. According to a report from Horns247 (paid content) on Dec. 5, Texas Tech is looking to show how deep their pockets can be.

And what bigger way to make that impact than by winning over a commitment from Ewers out of the transfer portal over the likes of the Longhorns, TCU Horned Frogs, and USC Trojans, among others potentially.

But let’s be real here, whatever NIL deal Texas Tech tries to throw Ewers’ way would likely be able to be one-upped by the Longhorns.

There is plenty of hype coming out of Lubbock that they can be a serious contender for Ewers following his Dec. 5 visit. Texas Tech is hoping that some of the recruiting magic they’ve found under the former Baylor Bears associate head coach McGuire can lead to a commitment from the Southlake, TX, native.

So this begs the question, how big of a threat is Texas Tech to the Longhorns?

First and foremost, I do want to state that it is pretty easy to get the impression that Texas Tech is for real in this pursuit. I mentioned heading into the weekend that I don’t think that the Red Raiders will be a serious contender. And there are more than enough signs to prove that I should change my mind. Texas Tech definitely looks like a serious contender for Ewers.

My personal opinion would still be that Texas is the leader for Ewers, but the landscape has changed a bit. The Texas A&M Aggies were reported to be an initial frontrunner for Ewers, but that looks to have changed. Texas A&M has a ton of depth in their quarterback room right now, and going after Ewers could ruin some of that momentum on the recruiting trail.

USC was a program to watch as a potential dark horse with the former Oklahoma Sooners head coach Lincoln Riley making his way out west. But the Trojans don’t look to be in the mix right now at the same level as Texas or Texas Tech.

One potential new threat could be coming into the picture, though, with TCU getting in the mix for Ewers.

It’s now likely that the TCU Horned Frogs and the recruiting duo of Ra’Shaad Samples and Bryan Carrington will be the talk of the town on Dec. 6. Texas fans will have to wait and see what comes out of this visit with the Horned Frogs early in the week to see if anything will come of this.

TCU has formed quite the recruiting duo on their new staff between Samples and Carrington. Former SMU Mustangs head coach Sonny Dykes was hired to replace Gary Patterson with TCU last week, and Samples and Carrington were two of the bigger additions to his staff thus far.

https://twitter.com/CoachBC_/status/1465470402872942593

The Horned Frogs are obviously a spot that is close to home for Ewers, and he has a connection in the past with Carrington. As the former Texas director of recruiting, Carrington was on staff with the Longhorns when Ewers originally gave his commitment to play on the Forty Acres last year.

Samples also has a great track record as a recruiter and is someone to watch out for in this regard.

There are no other planned visits in place for Ewers at this point in time. But that is of course subject to change given how fast his decision timeline could come along.

And while we don’t have a set decision timeline in place yet from Ewers, some indicators are pointing to him wanting to make a commitment as soon as he can before the Early Signing Period (starting Dec. 15). According to a report from Brian Davis of the Austin American-Statesmen on Dec. 5, it would make sense if coaches wanted to push Ewers along to a decision ahead of the Early Signing Period.

One last point to make here in regard to who some of the contenders to worry about are with Ewers is the fact that new head coach Steve Sarkisian did get a reported in-home visit on Dec. 3, which lasted at least three hours from what we know. That is a good sign that Sark is making Ewers this much of a priority.

https://twitter.com/Xavierworthy2/status/1466928082892296192

Ewers wants it to be known that he wants to draw elite talent with him wherever he goes next. There would obviously be more potential to bring elite skill position talent with him if he landed on the Forty Acres compared with a spot like Texas Tech or even TCU.

He already has the likes of star sophomore running back Bijan Robinson, freshman wide receiver Xavier Worthy, and redshirt sophomore wide receiver Jordan Whittington, that he could play with at Texas.

Texas never looked to be a guaranteed landing spot for Ewers once he officially put his name in the transfer portal on Dec. 3. Texas Tech looks to be a real contender with Ewers, granted it’s a good sign that there’s not already a commitment yet from him. Texas is still the top school in my mind, despite some recent momentum in favor of Texas Tech.