Quinn Ewers Senior Day decision makes Texas’ future clear, QB’s not so much

The more Quinn Ewers struggles at QB for the Texas Longhorns, the more rumors begin to swirl about just what his future holds. Steve Sarkisian has stuck by his starter over the past two years, refusing to even entertain the notion that Arch Manning might unseat him as QB1. But that always came with an implied expiration date: When Ewers returned for the 2024 season, it was with the understanding that he'd have one more year at the helm, then it was time to head to the NFL Draft and make room for Manning to take the reins.

Now, though, everything's been thrown up in the air. Texas keeps on winning, but they're doing so in spite of Ewers, not because of him. It's clear that he hasn't fully recovered from that September oblique injury, and the more ugly play he puts on tape, the less likely it is that an NFL team is going to be willing to sink a Day 1 pick into him to be its next franchise quarterback — and the more likely it is that Ewers decides it's in his best interest to play one more year of college ball.

Which brings us to the million-dollar question: Assuming Ewers doesn't enter the draft next spring, will that final season come in Austin or somewhere else? We got the first part of our answer on Saturday afternoon, but plenty of questions still remain.

Quinn Ewers takes part in Texas' Senior Day, but questions remain

News broke on Saturday morning that Ewers planned on participating in Texas' Senior Day festivities ahead of the Horns' final home game of the season against Kentucky. From there, it's not too hard to jump to conclusions: If Ewers thought there was any chance he'd play in Darrell K. Royal Stadium again, he almost certainly wouldn't be giving everyone a head fake and asking friends and family to make the trip to Austin.

Of course, just because Ewers seems to have closed the book on a return to Texas in 2025 doesn't mean we know exactly what the future holds for him. Does it mean that he's already set on turning pro, or does it just mean that he'll be hitting the transfer portal once this season ends? Remember, attending Senior Day somewhere doesn't mean you can't decide to go play somewhere else: Dillon Gabriel went through Senior Day at Oklahoma last season, and now he might win the Heisman Trophy at Oregon.

If Ewers chooses to hit the portal and rebuild his draft stock, there will be no shortage of suitors who are interested. Quality QB play is hard to find, and for all of the controversy surrounding the former five-star recruit, he did take a team to the College Football Playoff less than 12 months ago. Will it be his former team, Ohio State? Or will he stick in the SEC and set up a juicy grudge match in 2025? We'll just have to wait and see.