It’s been 16 years since Ohio State last faced off against Texas, but head coach Ryan Day and the Buckeyes are well-acquainted with the Longhorns’ signal-caller. Current Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers started his collegiate career with the Buckeyes in 2021, after reclassifying out of high school to join the Buckeyes a year early before signing a $1.4 million NIL deal with GT Sports Marketing. Three years later, Ewers will attempt to end Ohio State’s 2024-25 season in the semifinals of the College Football Playoff in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 10.
As early as eighth grade, Ewers looked like a serious candidate to become the Buckeyes’ quarterback of the future when his tremendous release as Day described it during a press conference on Wednesday, garnered him a scholarship offer from Day, who was then Ohio State’s offensive coordinator.
“I remember grabbing him and grabbing his dad and saying, ‘You have 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 at eighth grade,’” Day said. “Again I don’t know if that’s legal or not, but we did.”
Day wasn’t the only person impressed by Ewers’ release, the Texas native was the No. 1 ranked player in the 2021 class, and received a 1.0000 247 Sports composite grade, making him one of the highest-rated recruits since 2000.
Ewers’ commitment to Ohio State had him in position to eventually start for the Buckeyes, but former Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud’s sensational 2021 season meant he was unlikely to receive substantial playing time early on in his collegiate career for Ohio State. Ewers then transferred to Texas after his only season with the team in 2021 and has since become a three-year starter. During his career, he was named to the second-team All-Big-12 team in 2023 before he earned a second-team All-SEC honor this year. Ewers’ departure from the program was a loss for the Buckeyes, but Day still has plenty of respect for the quarterback his team will go up against in the Cotton Bowl.
“C.J. (Stroud) really had a great season that season and (Ewers) decided he really wanted to play,” Day said. “It was disappointing for us, but we certainly understood. From afar I’ve watched him and he’s got a lot of talent, he’s a really good player, he comes from a great family and he’s had a great career at Texas. A lot of people here still have good relationships with him and think the world of him.”
