When Quinn Ewers arrived on campus in August, the local media took every opportunity to ask head coach Ryan Day about the first-year quarterback.
To be fair, the 6-foot-3, 206-pound Ewers, a five-star recruit from Southlake (Texas) Carroll high school, provides newsworthiness in his own right. After throwing for 6,445 yards and 73 touchdowns in three high school seasons, he became the sixth player to ever achieve a perfect rating in the 247Sports composite rankings.
Ewers also decided to reclassify from the 2022 recruiting class and joined C.J. Stroud, Kyle McCord and Jack Miller in a highly competitive quarterback room.
When Day answered questions about Ewers, he maintained a thoughtful approach, complimenting his work ethic and drive. However, Day remained straightforward with the media, revealing that Ewers had a long road ahead of him before playing college football.
After fall camp ended and C.J. Stroud won the quarterback competition, questions about Ewers became less common. It’s not that anyone forgot about him — it’s just that Ohio State news outlets couldn’t keep writing stories about a fourth-string player.
His name came up briefly in the week leading up to the Akron game when Stroud sat out to rest his throwing shoulder. Day was quick to point out that Ewers would be unavailable for the contest, eventually naming McCord the starter and using Miller as the primary backup.
Seven weeks into the season, Day offered an update on Ewers performance in practice. In Tuesday’s press conference leading up to the Indiana game this weekend, Dan Hope of Eleven Warriors asked Day if Ewers would be ready if called upon in the future.
“No, he’s not quite ready yet,” Day said. “He’s gonna be a little while.”
Still, Day shared that Ewers is progressing as a Buckeye and hasn’t let a lack of playing time keep him from improving as a player and teammate.
“He’s doing a good job of starting to learn how to be a college football player, and there’s a lot that comes with that,” Day said. “I think he’s starting to get more accustomed to the day-to-day grind and what it’s like. He’s starting to get some buddies and that type of thing.”
Day emphasized the importance of mental reps for his quarterbacks, especially for the backups. Even when they aren’t taking snaps, they need to work on their fundamentals and preparation beyond physical ability.
According to Day, Ewers won’t be in the running for in-game snaps anytime soon. However, if he continues to make strides in the right direction, he thinks the freshman quarterback can make an impact at the end of the year and in the early offseason.
“We’ll continue to work with him and see because you never know,” Day said. “But that’s something that’s probably gonna happen more towards bowl practice in the winter and spring practice next year.”
