Quinn Ewers will not continue his college career at a third school.
The quarterback from Texas has declared for the 2025 NFL Draft after three seasons as the Longhorns’ starter. Ewers transferred to Texas after spending a season at Ohio State and has been Texas’ top quarterback since arriving on campus.
Ewers’ announcement comes after Texas lost to Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl on Friday in the College Football Playoff semifinals. Ewers was 23 of 39 passing for 283 yards with two touchdowns and an interception against the Buckeyes. He also fumbled on fourth down with less than three minutes left when Jack Sawyer sacked him and returned the ball 83 yards for the game-sealing touchdown.
For the season, Ewers was 293 of 445 passing for 2,472 yards and 31 TDs with 12 interceptions. His completion percentage and interception percentage were higher than in 2023, but he threw nine more touchdown passes over two more games than in 2023. Ewers missed two games this season due to an oblique injury and had missed games in each of the previous two seasons. due to shoulder injuries.
Ewers had the opportunity to return to college for another season as he played in just one game at Ohio State during the 2021 season. However, a return to Texas has always seemed unlikely with Arch Manning waiting in the wings. The cousin of Peyton and Eli Manning was the team’s third quarterback and redshirted in 2023 before serving as Ewers’ backup, and he started two games in 2024 when Ewers was sidelined.
Manning, a five-star recruit in the class of 2023, has long been viewed as Texas’ QB of the future. And his presence is certainly a big reason why Ewers became the subject of a viral report that he was offered $6 million by an unnamed school to continue his college career for another season.
There was never any further verification of that report, and Ewers’ decision to turn pro may be an indication that it wasn’t entirely true. Ewers isn’t seen as a surefire early-round pick in the NFL Draft, though he could easily find his way onto draft boards with strong workouts. The class of 2025 isn’t considered strong for quarterbacks, and there doesn’t appear to be a clear No. 3 QB in the class behind Miami’s Cam Ward and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders.
With Ewers leaving for the NFL, Texas can begin its Manning era in earnest. He will be a redshirt sophomore in 2025 and has three years left to enter the NFL as early as the 2026 NFL Draft. In nine appearances in 2024, Manning was 61 of 90 passing for 939 yards and nine touchdowns and two interceptions. He also rushed 24 times for 100 yards and four scores.
Manning will be an early No. 1 pick anywhere in the mock drafts, having a great season as a starter. But as of January 2025, it doesn’t feel like a guarantee that Manning would head straight to the NFL if successful. After all, he chose Texas, knowing Ewers was entrenched as the starter.
