Texas Football: Quinn Ewers is in a ‘different mode’ this offseason

Of the many Texas football players that the fans on the Forty Acres wanted to see improvement from this spring, I don’t know if there was a more important one than redshirt sophomore quarterback Quinn Ewers. Coming off an up-and-down redshirt freshman campaign as a first-year starting quarterback for Texas last fall, head coach Steve Sarkisian needed to see Ewers make ample strides to lead the offense this spring.

From everything we’ve heard from various reports and sources in and around the program, along with words straight from his teammates, Ewers has shown plenty of improvement in spring ball.

The former elite five-star recruit out of Southlake Carroll High School in the DFW Metroplex seems to be living up to the hype this spring.

Many of Ewers’ teammates showed him a lot of praise during media availability last week. Senior defensive back Jahdae Barron stated that Quinn’s “confidence is way up” and that he has “improved” this offseason.

Texas football QB Quinn Ewers impressing his teammates this spring

Senior safety Jerrin Thompson also had something interesting to say about the way that Ewers is reading different coverages this spring (transcriptions thanks to Horns247).

"“Even when we’re disguising, he does a good job of looking off the safeties. He’s come a long way just from that aspect.”"

That is a big sign of progress in terms of the composure and intelligence that Ewers is showing while going through his reads in the pocket. Being able to read coverage and time his throws better are big developments for Ewers this spring.

However, I think the most notable statement regarding Ewers’ progress this spring came from junior tight end JT Sanders. It sounds like Sanders has noticed the abundance of talent and depth at the quarterback position in spring camp.

"“I’d definitely say our quarterbacks for sure. I think getting Arch definitely made Quinn step up his game for sure. Maalik is coming along, too. But you can just tell Quinn is in a different mode this year, the way he carries himself, the way he comes to the facility. He’s starting to become more of a leader. I’m loving the way he’s stepping up for sure.”"

The fact that key starters for the Longhorns on both sides of the ball are noticing so much progress from Ewers so far this offseason says a lot about his growth since last fall.

This progress from Ewers hasn’t come out of nowhere, though. Ewers was already showing ample improvement in the last three games of the 2022 campaign, especially in the Alamo Bowl against the Washington Huskies.

Ewers looked more poised in the pocket and was making fewer mistakes in the pocket in the final three games of the 2022 season. In fact, the last three games of the season was the only three-game stretch of the entire 2022 campaign that Ewers didn’t throw any picks. He also had a career night, with more than 350 passing yards on 31 completions, in the Alamo Bowl.

Most of the buzz surrounding Ewers’ performances in spring camp is very positive. Ewers has sounded like the most consistent and mature quarterback amid a group of talented QBs at the position including Arch Manning and Maalik Murphy.

The fans will finally get to see Ewers put this progress on display during the Orange-White Game at DKR on April 15.