Colin Gay of the Scarlet and Gray Report, Ohio State's Rivals site, answered some questions about the transfer of Quinn Ewers and what Red Raider fans could expect if Joey McGuire lands the former No. 1 QB prospect in the nation.
Start off with something everyone might be asking - why is Ewers transferring?
Really, it's as simple as him thinking that there wasn't a path to playing time sooner rather than later. Quinn Ewers entered the Ohio State football program in the middle of fall camp and was not even close to being ready to take the field, with head coach Ryan Day making perfectly clear that Ohio State really didn't have time to give him the reps necessary to get him ready to play, especially with the young quarterback room around him. As the season continued, Ewers continued to grow, but C.J. Stroud was molding into one of the better quarterbacks in the Big Ten, solidifying himself as Ohio State's starter. As a redshirt freshman, Stroud is seemingly set to be Ohio State's quarterback at least until the end of 2022. Even heading into the 2023 season, Ewers would have had to beat freshman Kyle McCord, who directly backed up Stroud this year — something that many felt Ewers could do. But the final straw, seemingly, was Devin Brown: the four-star quarterback out of Utah Ohio State signed last week for 2022. With Brown, McCord and Stroud, Ewers didn't feel he had a direct path, leading to him leaving the program.
Can you break it down how Ewers initially landed at Ohio State and his recruitment?
Based on what Ewers said publicly, it was a matter of not going through the recruiting process as much as he could when he initially committed to Texas, looking to other schools like Alabama and Ohio State. The timing was clear though, with Tom Herman being fired from Texas and the program being in sort of a limbo period, it seemed like Ewers didn't want to be a part of that uncertainty, which is why he decommitted from Texas. As for Ohio State, he committed to a program that was hot in terms of quarterback development, following in the footsteps of former five-star Justin Fields, who went from Georgia to Ohio State prior to the start of the 2019 season. But the room got incredibly full with a lot of young talent all at relatively the same age. Movement was inevitable.
Talk about Ewers' NIL deal
The NIL was the reason why Ewers reclassified in the first place. When the UIL ruled that he wasn't allowed to profit off name, image and likeness in high school, he wanted to enroll in school right away, something that he banked off of. After the reportedly over $1 million NIL deal to start before he took a preseason snap, Ewers was taking advantage of the NIL privileges from the get go. Hell, even during the Big Ten Championship game, a commercial from a local car dealership that Ewers is prominently featured in was shown, even after his transfer had begun.
Describe Ewers' playing ability. What can be expected of him on the field?
At the college level, we really don't know much. He played two snaps against Michigan State, handing the ball off to running backs as the clock ran out to the delight of those who remained in the stadium. After coming in incredibly unprepared for the college level, according to Day, the head coach did say that he had been making progress as the season continued, picking up more of the offense, getting more reps and feeling much more comfortable in the offense. Will it pay off when he does get a chance to start at the college level? Maybe, but who knows. But I'll say this: Day is one of the best quarterback recruiters and developers out there. Him getting his hands on Ewers only for a year should make a difference in the long run.
Break down other schools being brought up during his transfer process
Nothing more than what the original report said, but it seems clear that Ewers wants to return to Texas, whether it's Texas, Texas A&M or Texas Tech. Tech seems like a good fit, especially with the interesting relationship between Texas and Ewers initially after his decommitment and the Aggies plan with Conner Weigman at quarterback.