During the preseason hype, football fans and experts placed bets on starting quarterback Quinn Ewers to take home the Heisman Trophy. ESPN also predicted Ewers as a first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, assuming this season would mark the end of the Ewers era at Texas.   

Before Ewers had even stepped foot in Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium for the 2024 season, Ewers had some of the best odds to win the Heisman. In 2023, he led the Longhorns to their most successful season yet, since Texas’ last campaign for the national championship, led by quarterback Colt McCoy, in 2008, and even had ESPN naming him a frontrunner for the accolade.

But his remaining one year of eligibility might be calling his name.

He suffered an oblique injury against UTSA during week three, which caused him to miss action against ULM and Mississippi State, removing crucial game time to build his campaign. The Longhorns’ loss to Georgia didn’t alleviate his standing either, as then-No. 1 ranked Texas fell to a then-No. 5 ranked Bulldogs squad, where Ewers threw for only 211 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.    

Questions about Ewers’ ability to lead Texas to a national championship really came into focus following his performance against Arkansas. He produced his second-lowest pass completion percentage of the season at 62.5% and failed to reach over 200 passing yards for the third time in the underwhelming 20-10 win. 

Saturday’s matchup versus Kentucky will be the team’s last regular-season home game in 2024. Ewers was posed the question of whether or not it would be his final home game as a Longhorn during Monday’s media availability. 

“Who knows? I’m just trying to win this week,” Ewers said.

Head coach Steve Sarkisian was asked the exact same question, in which he responded even quicker. 

“No idea,” Sarkisian said. 

While this may just be a stunt to keep the public on the edge of its seat, it may be a reality that the junior is reevaluating his options.

Ewers has completely dropped out of the Heisman race, leaving the only quarterback remaining from the preseason discussion to be Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel, who leads the No. 1 ranked team in the nation with a 11–0 record while averaging 278.73 passing yards per game compared to Ewers’ average of 237.3.

Similarly, Ewers’ NFL Draft stock has taken a dramatic plummet. According to football analysis site Pro Football Focus, the starter was projected to be a top-20 pick back in May, but now resides as the No. 119 overall pick and No. 7 quarterback prospect. 

The discussion of Ewers returning for his senior season has been rampant on social media platform X in recent days, with fans wondering whether it would cause backup quarterback and No. 1 recruit of the 2023 class Arch Manning to look elsewhere. 

Ewers still has some time left to regain momentum, and his ability to seal an SEC Championship and a national title could be all he needs to redefine himself as a top NFL prospect.