The circus around the Texas Longhorns quarterback situation just keeps spinning. This time, the idea that Quinn Ewers could leave for the NFL before the season even ends is at the center of the storm.
This all comes from two separate events that sparked dubious rumors. The biggest culprit? A post on the 247Sports Instagram page claiming, "Texas QB Quinn Ewers will sit out the rest of the season to prepare for the NFL Draft."
Said graphic was posted and then promptly deleted, according to slew of accounts on Twitter who preserved it. As they say, things on the internet are forever.
247Sports posted this to their Instagram and deleted shortly afterwards...
— College Football Talks (@cfbtalksonig) October 21, 2024
Do y'all think Quinn Ewers could actually opt out of the rest of the season? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/QjmDTFRq82
Chip Brown and Jeff Howe of Horns247 told readers that the 247Sports Instagram page was hacked.
RE: Quinn Ewers and the rumor pic.twitter.com/pf6cxFrUMi
— Rohan Kamat (@rohan_k101) October 21, 2024
It doesn't help that Texas fans were already on high alert. Normally, Ewers meets with the media on Mondays. This Monday, just days after being briefly benched against Georgia, Ewers didn't make an appearance.
Quinn Ewers did not meet the media this afternoon, something he usually does on Mondays.
— Josh Newman (@Joshua_Newman) October 21, 2024
This has been your Texas QB update.
There are a million reasons for Ewers to miss media availability, from an innocent scheduling conflict to him simply not wanting to answer questions. Of course, the timing sparked a whole lot of speculation. There's no way around that one.
You pair a potential hacking prank with a suspiciously timed and you get a rumor that spreads across the internet like wildfire. But is there even a nugget of truth in there?
No, Quinn Ewers is not sitting out for the NFL
In case it wasn't already abundantly clear, this rumor is 100 percent not true. Pete Thamel confirmed as much via Ewers' representatives.
A report about Quinn Ewers leaving Texas for the NFL Draft is not true, per Ewers’ representative Ron Slavin. Ewers practiced today and is focused on Vanderbilt.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) October 21, 2024
Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian did speak to the media and lent his support to his quarterback. Ewers practiced on Monday. He's not sitting out.
But let's consider this as an actual option for Ewers...It makes absolutely zero sense.
Even if Ewers did lose his starting job to Arch Manning (which he hasn't), it would still be in his best interest to stick it out for the rest of the season and see what opportunities might come his way.
Moreover, Ewers isn't one of those sure-fire draft prospects who would get drafted whether he played or not. He needs to keep proving himself to scouts. Quitting on his team at the first sign of adversity would be a red flag for his NFL Draft résumé.
So there you have it. Ewers isn't going anywhere and it wouldn't make sense for him to do it anyways.