There is pressure from the past and pressure from the future, both contributing to the enormous spotlight that follows Quinn Ewers. 

He was the No. 1 prospect in the country before enrolling a year early at Ohio State last season, in large part so he could profit from his Name, Image and Likeness that Texas didn’t allow for high school athletes. 

He’s a Texan who is starting at quarterback for Texas, living the dream almost all kids in the Lonestar State have when they first pick up a football. And then there is the future, next year’s arrival of uber-prospect Arch Manning, the nephew of Eli and Peyton Manning. 

Ewers has this year to prove himself, to prove he’s worthy of the big NIL dollars he has already pocketed and the hype that comes with being the top prospect in the country, to show coach Steve Sarkisian that Manning can spend a year watching and learning like Ewers did last fall at Ohio State behind C.J. Stroud. 

“There’s a lot of pressure on him,” said Michael Griffin, a Texas alum who played 10 seasons in the NFL and now is an analyst for the Longhorn Network. “It’s the fact that every day [he has] to compete. There’s somebody waiting for their opportunity [now and in the future]. The question is the mental aspect. How much is he willing to accept that pressure and be able to perform under pressure and welcome pressure.” 

It’s a lot to put on the shoulders of someone who has never taken a collegiate snap. It’s not like Ewers is joining a program that has done a lot of winning in recent years, although he will have Heisman Trophy candidate Bijan Robinson at running back and big-play receiver Xavier Worthy by his side. Over the last decade, Texas has been known for generating preseason hype and failing to live up to those lofty expectations. It is coming off a 5-7 campaign and has one double-figure win season in the last 12 seasons. It hosts preseason title favorite Alabama in Week 2 and meets bitter rival Oklahoma on Oct. 8, early litmus tests for Ewers. 

The 6-foot-2 Ewers seems to understand the situation he chose by transferring to Texas. Back in May, he wrote in The Players Tribune that “there’s a lot of pressure that comes with this kind of thing,” as a Texas kid going to play quarterback for the Longhorns. 

He has impressed since arriving on campus, beating out Hudson Card for the starting job. Sarkisian has praised Ewers’ playmaking ability and his arm talent that allows him to make all the throws. He’s creative in and out of the pocket, able to fit passes in narrow windows and making unorthodox throws. In two seasons at Carroll Senior High School, he produced 6,400 yards and 73 passing touchdowns. 

“In terms of at the same stage, I would take Quinn Ewers over Arch Manning,” said Adam Gorney, a national recruiting analyst for 247Sports.com. “I think he’s much more of a dynamic passer. I hesitate to make crazy comparisons like this, but he throws the football like Patrick Mahomes. He can sidearm it, he can throw from all kinds of different arm angles. 

“He definitely doesn’t have to set his feet to get the ball out and have it be an accurate throw. That’s really what stood out the most about Quinn Ewers in high school, he was just so advanced, where the ball popped off his hand with accuracy down the field.” 

What has impressed Griffin the most is how Ewers has handled his first few months on campus. He hasn’t seen — or heard — of him out and about in Austin. There isn’t a celebrity aspect to Evers. 

“You don’t see him,” Griffin said. “The fact is all you hear is great things about him. You don’t hear him being the overly loud and vocal person, all about himself. Everybody likes him. He’s kind of like Sam Ehlinger when he was here at the University of Texas. 

“He’s doing everything the right way and he’s not doing anything above the team to make all eyes on him.” 

With that said, the focus will be on Ewers this season as he looks to lead the Longhorns to double-figure wins for the first time in four years. There is his past as a top recruit and NIL star, the future with Manning coming aboard. As a Texan, his success could help Sarkisian and Co. with in-state recruiting. 

“All eyes,” Griffin said, “are watching him.”