SEC Media Days: Texas QB Quinn Ewers 'Excited' to Follow Jackson Arnold's Oklahoma Career

The Red River rivals broke bread at the Manning Passing Academy this summer ahead of the 2024 season.

Jul 17, 2024; Dallas, TX, USA; Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers speaking at Omni Dallas Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Brett Patzke-USA TODAY Sports / Brett Patzke-USA TODAY Sports

DALLAS — Quinn Ewers will face off against a third different Oklahoma quarterback this October. 

In his first Red River Rivalry game, Ewers squared off against Davis Beville after Dillon Gabriel was confined to concussion protocols. 

Gabriel got onto the field last year, engineering a now-legendary touchdown drive to upend the Longhorns at the death. 

Now, it’s Jackson Arnold’s time. 

OU’s sophomore quarterback is familiar with Ewers, as both grew up around each other in the ranks of Texas high school football. 

Ewers slung the rock for Southlake Carroll while Arnold led Denton Guyer. 

And though Ewers and Arnold’s time as starting quarterbacks in high school didn’t exactly overlap, they got to spend time around each other at this summer’s Manning Passing Academy.

“Jackson’s a cool dude to hang around,” Ewers said on Wednesday at SEC Media Days. “He’s a good dude. He can obviously sling it.”

As he prepares for his first season as the starting quarterback at OU, Arnold relished the opportunity to work out with so many top signal-callers from across the country — including a good number of his SEC foes. 

“The Manning Passing Academy for us was a place for us to meet each other and get around each other and hang around,” Arnold said on Tuesday. “Maybe some dudes that knew each other already and hang out with each other. There wasn't a lot of trash talking going on. There wasn't a lot of ball talk. We were just hanging out with each other. 

“… It was great to meet those guys and just seeing how they operate, but like you said, competing against them in some of the things we had at night, throwing against them in competitions, it was good to see how I stacked up against other college QBs.”

Ewers and Arnold connected, and the OU quarterback left an impression on his Red River counterpart. 

“Growing up in the same area you always have good conversation starters right there,” Ewers said. “But no he’s a cool dude to hang around. He’s going to do good things at OU, I already know.”

Last year, Ewers turned down a chance to enter the NFL Draft, instead returning to Texas for his third season. 

He’ll enter 2024 as one of the most experienced quarterbacks in the SEC, a stark contrast to Arnold. 

But as he’s grown throughout the years, Ewers enjoys seeing how his newer counterparts grow throughout their careers. 

“He’s also a young guy so I’m excited to see how they turn out,” Ewers said with a smile, pausing to add, “except for one game out of the year.”