'Super Proud of Quinn': Texas Longhorns' Steve Sarkisian Praises Ewers in Farewell

The Texas Longhorns' 28-14 loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes in Friday night's Cotton Bowl was a gut punch in more ways than one.

First, it's the second-straight year the Longhorns have made it to the semifinals of the College Football Playoff, only to fall short in agonizing fashion. Second, this game likely marks the end of an era in Austin.

Quinn Ewers, the Longhorns' starting quarterback for the past three seasons, announced before the game that he doesn't plan to play college football next season. Sure, Ewers is far from the perfect quarterback, but if this is truly the end for him at Texas, he leaves the program as one of the more-decorated signal-callers in its history. Most importantly, he helped the Longhorns get back to national relevance after more than a decade.

Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers runs against the Ohio State Buckeyes — Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers (3) runs the ball during the College Football Playoff semifinal game against Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium on Friday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Arlington, Texas. | Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

After Ewers' (likely) final game in a Longhorns uniform, head coach Steve Sarkisian gave a heartfelt speech about what his quarterback means to him.

"I'm super proud of Quinn," Sarkisian told reporters. "He's taught me a lot, probably unknowingly to him, because what he went through every year dealing with injury, what he goes through where I don't know if he'd ever live up to the standards of what everybody thinks he's supposed to be. But at the end of the day, all he did was show up every day and work and be a great leader and be a great teammate... You can ride that emotional roller coaster of whatever you think public opinion could be, and that could be the opinion of one or a hundred or whatever.

"But this guy never did that. All he did was come to work every day. All he did was be a great teammate. All he did was work on his craft, get himself as healthy as he could when he was injured, and then show up when it was time to show up."

Assuming this is the end of Ewers' time at Texas, he ends his career with 9,128 passing yards and 68 passing touchdowns, ranking third in program history behind Colt McCoy and Sam Ehlinger in both categories. Ewers leaves a legacy to be proud of in Austin.

While Ewers helped the program rise from the ashes, he knows others that follow him will help it continue to thrive.

"I think, again, it's just a testament to Coach Sark and the guys that he brought in and the coaching staff that just completely changed Texas football," Ewers said. "Growing up as a Longhorn and being able to play for the Longhorns and see us going to back-to-back semifinal games has been cool to be a part of, and I hope we made the fans proud with our performances this year. We came up short, but I think we're definitely headed in the right direction as a program."

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