Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian hugs Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers during senior day / Ricardo B. Brazziell/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers will go down as one of the best quarterbacks in the history of the program.
Despite that, and to the surprise of many, he slid all the way to the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft before being picked by the Miami Dolphins with the No. 231 overall pick.
After his selection, Ewers was obviously extremely emotional. In part because his life-long dream had finally been realized, and likely also – at least partially – because his wait was longer than he anticipated. Nevertheless, that dream was fulfilled and he will have a chance to carve out a career for himself at the next level.
On Monday his former head coach, Steve Sarkisian, shared his thoughts on Ewers’ slide, and held him up as one of the best to come through the program during his tenure.
Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian embraces quarterback Quinn Ewers on Texas Longhorns senior day. / Sara Diggins/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
“I feel for Quinn. He was a great player for us,” Sarkisian said Monday at the Houston Touchdown Club. “I think about a lot of the people that come through this program over the last four years that have impacted the growth and trajectory of our program, and he’s right there near the top, if not at the top of the impact that he’s had, not only on the field but off the field. His ability to help recruit other players come be part of our program. I think he was one of the first guys through all this talk about collective and all the things that were going on in the world of NIL… he never took money from our collective. All of what he did through NIL was his true Name, Image, and Likeness.
It is unclear exactly why Ewers slid. Some could point to the knocks against him in the downfield passing game or his pocket awareness. In our opinion, most of those criticisms were short-sighted and a result of injury issues, more so than a skillset that was lacking.
But there is no doubt that Ewers was one of the smartest QB prospects in the draft. He is also a battle tested veteran that never folded in the face of adversity.
And Sarkisian believes that will serve him well in Miami.
“All of us wish he would have gotten drafted higher,” Sarkisian said. “At the end of the day if I could have picked a place that I think is a great fit for him… I think Miami is a great fit. Systematically what Coach McDaniel does is very similar to what we do. So there’s going to be a level of comfort for him of style of play. He’s got some great weapons on the outside, it’s a warm-weather place. I think it’s a good fit for him. Now it’s about taking advantage of the opportunity that presents itself.”
Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian hugs Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers during senior day / Ricardo B. Brazziell/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Ewers ranked fourth in school history in wins with a 27-9 record as a starter, putting him just one win behind Bobby Layne, who had four seasons as the starter. Ewers became one of just four quarterbacks to lead the Longhorns to a Big 12 Championship alongside Young, McCoy, and James Brown. He also became the first-ever Texas quarterback to lead his team to back-to-back conference title games after leading the Horns to an SEC Championship Game against Georgia.
He also led the Longhorns to its only two College Football Playoff appearances in program history, coming up just short of a national title appearance in both games.
And Sarkisian believes that experience, as well as his leadership ability, will help him at the NFL level.
“You think about the last two years, he leads us to back-to-back CFPs – we’re the only team to do that the last two years – we win a Big 12 Championship, and we compete for an SEC Championship. And he was a key guy in transforming a team coming off a 5-7 season into a championship-level program. He came in when we were building this thing, made an immediate impact, and his leadership was critical to the growth and success of our program over the last three years. He’s a tremendous player, even better person, and a great teammate. Miami got an outstanding quarterback who will be a great addition to their team.”
Ewers ends his college career ranking third in school history in both passing yards (9,128) and touchdowns (68). He also holds the 3rd and 4th highest single-season passing yard totals in school history by throwing for 3,479 in 2023 and 3,472 in 2024, as well as the third-most passing touchdowns in a single season with 31 in 2024.
Now he takes his talent to Miami, where he will have a chance to thrive in a Mike McDaniel-led offense while learning behind Tua Tagovialoa.
Published 1 Hour Ago|Modified 1:20 PM EDT
