AUSTIN (KXAN) — Ohio State head coach Ryan Day offered Quinn Ewers a scholarship when Ewers was in eighth grade, not sure if it was legal, after seeing him at a camp on campus as a "boy who just had a tremendous release." From there, a wild path began.
With the prospects and profits of name, image and likeness emerging and a hype train fueled by recruiting rankings and social media, Ewers decided to graduate from Southlake Carroll High School a year early. He skipped his senior season as quarterback of the Dragons to enroll at Ohio State in 2021. Day said it was "a little bit strange" because he joined the team in the middle of preseason training camp.
"With college football, you adapt the best you can," Day said.
Ewers spent a year in Columbus and watched a then-redshirt freshman CJ Stroud have a monster season with the Buckeyes. Ewers didn't want to be his backup and decided to return to the Lone Star State and play for the Longhorns. He's been a three-year starter under Steve Sarkisian and will now face the team that he reclassified for in the College Football Playoff semifinals at the Cotton Bowl Classic on Friday.
Ewers has no regrets about going there and staying just one semester.
"The main reason I went was I felt like I had a great relationship with the coaching staff. And they were winning a lot of games, and I wanted to go be a part of something like that." Ewers said. "I learned a lot while I was there under Coach [Ryan] Day and CJ, and just that whole room was awesome to be around. Super thankful for that time that I got to spend there."
Ewers said he was roommates with Buckeyes defensive end Jack Sawyer and is excited to see some of the other players that "took him in."
"I felt like I belonged there," Ewers said. "It's going to be fun to get to see those guys."
Day said people within the Buckeyes program "think the world" of Ewers.
"CJ really had a great season, and [Ewers] decided he really wanted to play," Day said. "It was disappointing for us, but we certainly understood. And from far, I've watched him, and he's got a lot of talent. He's a really good player. He comes from a great family and he's had a great career at Texas. A lot of people here still have good relationships with him."
When Day saw Ewers throw at the camp at the Buckeyes' facility, he couldn't get his recruiting pitch out fast enough.
"I remember grabbing him and his dad and said, 'Man, you got a bright future ahead of you. I don't know if this is good or bad, but we're going to offer you a scholarship to Ohio State, even in eighth grade,'" Day said.
Sarkisian said when Ewers transferred to Texas, even though he was technically a redshirt freshman, the coaching staff viewed him as a true freshman because of his reclassification.
"There's been a lot of development," Sarkisian said with Ewers. "I would say physical development, but also say probably mental and emotional development. He can look into the face of adversity and come out on the other side of it time and time again, whether that's injuries or whatever it looks like. To be at his best when his best is needed, similar to the Peach Bowl there at the end of the game and overtime. That's all from a seismic shift from a maturity standpoint, physically and mentally."
