Quinn Ewers, Isaiah Neyor bound to be a special connection for Texas

Two of the most exciting additions to the Texas football program so far this offseason for second-year head coach Steve Sarkisian and his staff could both be skill position starters on offense this fall. Those two players we’re talking about here were both additions to Texas by way of the NCAA Transfer Portal.

The first we’re talking about is the former Ohio State Buckeyes freshman transfer quarterback and former elite five-star recruit Quinn Ewers. This former Texas commit and insanely-talented second-year QB Ewers should still be considered the favorite at the moment over rising junior Hudson Card to win the starting quarterback job this fall.

Sark and the Longhorns staff will be looking to Ewers to help solve some of the quarterback woes that were present throughout last season.

And one of the reasons to believe that Ewers can help take this offense to another level is one of the wideouts he’ll be throwing to this fall, who also happens to be the second transfer addition we’re talking about here. Former Wyoming Cowboys breakout redshirt freshman wide receiver Isaiah Neyor could be the missing piece in this starting trio of wideouts to really help this passing game explode in 2022.

The potential in store for this Texas offense after the additions of Ewers and Neyor is mind-boggling. But it’s not just Ewers and Neyor generating buzz for this offense in 2022. The likes of star running back Bijan Robinson and wideouts Xavier Worthy and Jordan Whittington could help take this whole offense to new heights this fall.

While this is still a young group that has to take some time to gel together heading into the 2022 season, it makes sense that there is so much hype around this group this offseason. Texas has so much talent present at the skill positions this year that the offense could be one of the very best not just in the Big 12, but in the entire country.

Yet, two of the real difference-makers that have the ability to take this offense to the next level this year are Ewers and Neyor. All the other projected skill position starters for the Longhorns were with this team last season. Thus, the duo of Ewers and Neyor should get a lot of attention heading into the upcoming season.

What makes the connection between Ewers and Neyor so potent is the idea of how wide-open this offense could be with this spark in the passing game.

Texas football bound to have a potent connection between QB Quinn Ewers and WR Isaiah Neyor

Last season, Texas didn’t really have a legitimate connection between a quarterback and wide receiver on the outside that opposing defenses had to worry about. That allowed a lot of the focus for opposing defenses to fall on pressuring the quarterback and stopping the duo of Bijan and Worthy.

For most of last season, the outside receiver for the Longhorns that got the looks on the sidelines was redshirt junior Joshua Moore. But Moore had a pretty disappointing 2021 campaign as he only hauled in a two catches for 24 yards and one touchdown on targets in the passing game on the outside of depth of at least 10 yards.

That didn’t help Texas really stretch any opposing defenses to create more room for the likes of Whittington, Worthy, and Robinson in the open field.

That will not be the case with Worthy lining up on the outside. Texas now has a quarterback that can get incredibly accurate balls on a line to the outside on intermediate and deep routes. And Neyor is certainly a wideout capable of bringing those targets down on the outside of the field.

Compared to the numbers Moore put up last season on intermediate and deep targets on the outside, Neyor blows him out of the water. Last season, Neyor had 386 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns on intermediate and deep targets on the outside.

Neyor’s production is going to completely change the way opposing defenses have to prepare for this Texas offense. They won’t be able to lock in on just a couple of skill position threats while committing additional guys to rush the passer.

Defenses will now have to commit more to confuse Ewers and ensure that the trio of Worthy, Whittington, and Neyor won’t have the ability to break games wide open. That’s not to mention the fact that opposing defenses still have to worry about the threat of the Texas ground game between the likes of Bijan, Roschon Johnson, Keilan Robinson, etc.

Yet, the real x-factor for the Longhorns’ offense this fall will be the play of the offensive line. Texas had one of the most inconsistent offensive lines in the Big 12 last season. But the addition of a few instant impact freshmen such as Kelvin Banks and Devon Campbell, along with Kyle Flood getting another year to get this group adjusted to really perform at a high level, should improve the results in the trenches this fall.

Furthermore, there are already some leading indicators that this connection between Ewers and Neyor could be special come this fall. A report from Inside Texas this week indicates that Ewers is completing his full-pads practice and scrimmage reps this spring at a rate greater than 75 percent. That is well above the 70 percent marker of completion percentage that Sark and his staff are looking for out of their starting quarterback in 2022.

And considering the fact that Neyor is definitely making an instant impression on the coaching staff this spring, the hype is valid for this potent quarterback-to-wide receiver connection coming out of camp this offseason.

Ewers, Neyor, and the Longhorns began spring ball with their first official practice back on March 22. We are now more than one week deep into spring camp as of the morning of March 30. And the spring football game is set to take place at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on April 23.