Ewers might instead be wearing scarlet and gray in the Cotton Bowl had he never enrolled early.
One of the major storylines heading into the Cotton Bowl is Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, who began his collegiate career with Ohio State before taking his talents to Austin. However, there is no bad blood between these two sides; No revenge game to be had for Ewers against his former program.
In fact, it was Ewers’ own decision during his initial recruitment that eventually led to a change in the timeline, and as a result a change in scenery.
Ewers was one of the all-time great prospects in the modern era coming out of high school by the rankings. A five-star recruit, the Southlake, Texas native received a perfect 1.000 rating by 247Sports — one of less than 20 players ever to achieve a 1.000 or better (Jeremiah Smith was a 1.0022). The 6-foot-3 quarterback was projected as a top-10 overall pick in the NFL Draft before even playing a snap for any college team.
Ryan Day didn’t need all the fancy accolades and recruiting rankings to be convinced of Ewers’ talents. After watching the QB throw at an Ohio State camp, the Buckeyes’ head coach was quick to extend an offer — as an EIGHTH grader.
“He was one of the first eighth-graders that I ever offered,” Day said ahead of the Cotton Bowl. “He was in our camp here in the Woody [Hayes Athletic Center]. And I saw a young — he was a boy at the time, really, who just had a tremendous release. I remember grabbing him and grabbing 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. […] I don’t know if that’s legal or not, but we did.”
Ewers went on to earn about 30 scholarship offers during the recruiting process, and became the most highly coveted recruit in the 2022 class. Despite Day’s early offer, Ohio State was actually not Ewers’ initial choice, as on Aug. 14, 2020, the Southlake star committed to the in-state Longhorns.
Day did not accept defeat in this battle, and after the Buckeyes’ continued relentless pursuit of Ewers, the quarterback announced his de-commitment from Texas on Oct. 28. It wasn’t too long after — Nov. 19 — that Ewers would announce his commitment to Ohio State.
By this point, however, Ewers had reclassified to the 2021 class, meaning that he would forgo his senior season at Southlake in order to pursue NIL opportunities. With Justin Fields playing his final season in Columbus, Ewers entered a position group that included Jack Miller, C.J. Stroud and fellow 2021 signee Kyle McCord.
Everyone knew at the time that this reclassification threw a wrench in the works of Ohio State’s plans at quarterback. The Buckeyes were looking at a clear progression from Fields to Stroud, from Stroud to McCord and then McCord to Ewers. Now, Ewers and McCord were on the same timeline, and while Ohio State did not directly choose McCord over Ewers at any point— as some of the narratives leading up to the Cotton Bowl would like you to believe — this decision did ultimately lead to Ewers’ transfer to Texas.
Stroud earned the starting job in that 2021 season, throwing for over 4,400 yards and 44 touchdowns with only six picks. McCord played the second-most snaps at quarterback, making a start against Akron while Stroud nursed an injured shoulder. Ewers, who should have been playing his senior season of high school ball, played two snaps all year — both against Michigan State, and both being hand-offs to a running back.
After earning Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, Big Ten Quarterback of the Year and Big Ten Freshman of the Years honors, it was clear Stroud would return as Ohio State’s starting quarterback in 2022. Ewers should have been arriving as a freshman in the fall, but instead was heading into year two in Columbus, and was not looking to wait another full season to become a starting quarterback.
With no chance of unseating the incumbent Stroud, Ewers officially entered the transfer portal in December 2021.
Landing back with Texas, Ewers started at quarterback for the Longhorns in 2022, passing for just under 2,200 yards with 15 touchdowns and six interceptions. Stroud, meanwhile, put together another strong season, throwing for 3,688 yards and 41 touchdowns and six picks. It worked out for both sides — Ohio State got a second year of great quarterback play from Stroud, and Ewers got to start at a program much closer to home.
Despite a pair of future first-round NFL Draft picks on the roster in Bijan Robinson and Xavier Worthy, Texas finished 8-5, losing to Washington in the Alamo Bowl. Ohio State, meanwhile, made the College Football Playoff at 11-2, nearly upsetting Georgia but coming up short in a 41-42 contest in the Peach Bowl.
Heading into 2023, Ohio State would have loved to have Ewers at QB1, but that isn’t how things worked out. Instead, the Buckeyes turned to Kyle McCord, who had a good year by the numbers but not a great year overall — at least by OSU standards — with 3,170 yards passing, 24 TDs and six INTs. Ewers had a similar season, throwing for 3,479 yards with 22 TDs and six INTs in Austin.
Ohio State went 11-2, lost to Michigan and missed the CFP, while Texas went 12-2, won the Big 12 and made the College Football Playoff, eventually losing to Washington in the Peach Bowl.
The offseason heading into the 2024 season is when Ohio State really felt the effects of Ewers’ reclassification. Rather than Ewers entering what would’ve likely been his second season as the Buckeyes’ starter, Day and new offensive coordinator Chip Kelly had to look to the transfer portal. It worked out in the end, as the addition of Will Howard has been largely successful for Ohio State, but it created a ton of uncertainty at the game’s most important position.
Now the two sides meet again, this time on opposing sidelines. There is zero bad blood between Ewers and Ohio State, as both the quarterback and Day have expressed gratitude towards one another for their short stint together.
“It was strange how it all shook out,” Day said last week of Ewers’ time at Ohio State. “C.J. really had a great season that season. And [Ewers] decided he really wanted to play. It was disappointing for us, but we certainly understood.”
“Super thankful for that time that I got to spend [at Ohio State],” Ewers echoed Monday. “I learned a whole lot.”
Regardless of what happens moving forward, a young quarterback made two big decisions — one to enroll early and then to transfer — that he felt were best for himself, and its hard to find any issue in that. The Buckeyes and the Longhorns have both landed themselves in the semifinal round of the College Football Playoff, so neither team has been any worse for wear. Things could have looked differently along the way, but hindsight is always 20/20.
On Friday, one of these programs will earn a spot in the national title game, writing perhaps the final chapter in what has been a long and winding road in the story of Quinn Ewers and Ohio State.