Texas Longhorns QB Quinn Ewers Has 'Most to Gain' in 2024

Quinn Ewers is heading into a massive 2024 season with the Texas Longhorns with a lot at stake.

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

Quinn Ewers is ready to lead the Texas Longhorns into a 2024 college football season that comes with extremely high expectations.

Not only are the Longhorns expected to compete for a spot in the College Football Playoff, they're expected to win a championship. There are a few teams around the nation with "championship or bust" expectations and Texas happens to be one of them.

That is a lot of pressure to put on a quarterback. Add in the fact that Ewers is also looking to prove himself ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft and the season comes with a lot at stake.

Ewers has been showing off strong ability on the field that has forced his name into the discussion to potentially be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft class. He has also shown off the ability to be a star in the NIL marketplace.

Currently, On3 has ranked Ewers as the No. 6 overall NIL athlete in the nation. When it comes to college football players specifically, he's ranked No. 5. He has been given an impressive NIL valuation of $1.7 million.

While his success to this point in his career has been great, he's at the top of the list for players with the most to gain from having a big-time season in 2024.

ESPN NFL Draft analyst Jordan Reid made it clear that Ewers is the obvious choice for that title.

"The most to gain? I think it is Quinn Ewers without question. Honestly, just because there's a lot of question marks about him and scouts that I talk to guess he probably would've gone in the second or the third round if we would have came out last year."

Reid continued forward, revealing some of his concerns about the Texas star quarterback.

"I thought he was inconsistent for most of the season last year, but there's some spots. They really give you a lot of hope for Quinn. ... The deep ball accuracy does need to improve. I definitely think he leaves it hanging a little bit too high at times, but what I love about Quinn and what is very similar to Carson Beck this year is that they lost a ton of production on offense. ... So he's going to have to shoulder the load while he's getting older."

During the 2023 season, Ewers completed 69.0 percent of his pass attempts for 3,479 yards, 22 touchdowns, and six interceptions. He also scored five touchdowns on the ground.

Heading into this season, the Longhorns will need to see more consistency and bigger numbers. If he can do those two things, Texas will have a strong chance to win a National Championship.

Also, with a strong season, Ewers will set himself up to be a very high pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.