Texas football: 6 players who (probably) won’t be back in 2024
By Josh Yourish
Steve Sarkisian loaded up the Texas offense once he got to Austin and now the Longhorns are competing for a spot in the College Football Playoff because of it. The downside is that a lot of that talent will head for the NFL Draft in the Spring.
Sark has already proven he can replenish a position room with Jonathon Brooks now dominating in the backfield after Bijan Robinson was taken No. 8 overall by the Atlanta Falcons last Spring. He’ll have his work cut out for him even more because five players on this offense could be drafted anywhere in the first three rounds of the NFL draft.
It could be tough to work back into the Top 4 this season, but next year, the College Football Playoff expands and the Longhorns move to the SEC. It’s not too early to look forward to the Arch Manning era and see which players from this year’s team Sark will need to replace.
No. 1 Quinn Ewers, sophomore
The NFL can never have enough quarterbacks. There certainly are not a lot of good ones across the league right now, so Ewers will be highly coveted. There’s a chance that he drops out of the first round, but more than likely somebody will put the trigger on him in the first 32 picks.
He’s not necessarily considered a first-round talent, but at quarterback, you don’t have to be to be taken there. A first-round QB on a rookie-scale contract is the most valuable thing in the NFL because of the affordable fifth-year option, so nearly every QB with a second-round grade becomes a first-round pick and that’ll likely be Ewers.
His performance in Tuscaloosa will be held up his best tape and with 1,915 yards and 13 touchdowns to three picks before his shoulder injury, Ewers has done enough to ensure this is his last year in Austin.