Football

Texas QB Quinn Ewers seeks to 'lean on Jesus' as Longhorns remain at No. 1

By Kevin Mercer Oct 14, 2024
Texas QB Quinn Ewers gets off a pass under heavy Oklahoma pressure, Oct. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter)

Rust is a foreign concept for Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers.

After missing two games with an oblique strain suffered on Sept. 14, the 21-year-old redshirt junior led his No. 1 Longhorns to a 34-3 dismantling of No. 18 Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry on Saturday.

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Ewers completed 20 of 29 passing attempts for 199 yards, one touchdown and one interception against the Sooners, a game held at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas as per tradition. He also rushed four times for three yards and added another score on the ground.

Texas’ replacement for Ewers during his two-game absence was much-hyped redshirt freshman Arch Manning, who garnered national attention because of his impressive performances in Ewers’ stead. Yet despite the calls for Manning to be given the reins, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian was clear that Ewers has always been and will continue to be the Longhorns’ starter. That decision paid off on Saturday.

Following the game, Ewers was being interviewed by ESPN’s Holly Rowe when Sarkisian handed him the golden hat, given annually to the winner of the Red River Rivalry game. Ewers was asked about his resilience after throwing an early interception but responding with the touchdown pass.

“Adversity is going to strike and at the end of the day, it’s how you come back and how you respond,” Ewers said while wearing the golden hat. “It’s 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react. So I just lean on Jesus, and He just continues and continues to [pull] me through adverse times.”

Ewers’ interview with Rowe wasn’t the first time he has mentioned his faith in Christ this season; the quarterback also talked about the freedom of not needing to earn his acceptance by his play on the field following a 31-12 win at then-No. 10 Michigan in Week 2.

“What helps me out is I’m not trying to please anybody. I’m not trying to please people who breathe one breath at a time,” Ewers said at the time, according to the Michigan Daily. “I’m just trying to please Jesus. He controls all breaths. And when you truly believe that, when you truly know that, I think I allow myself to fully play clear-minded.”

In the offseason, Ewers was interviewed by Robert Griffin III on “RG3 and The Ones,” and the former Heisman Trophy winner asked Ewers about God’s hand in his life.

“The lessons that I’ve learned and that He’s taught me,” Ewers said. “From going to Ohio State, and just everything that happened to me up there, I kind of got away from my relationship with God when I was up there. I wasn’t leaning on Him as much as I should.

“And then me coming back down here [to Texas], it’s like my faith kind of exploded. It grew a whole bunch just being closer to home.”

Ewers, who spent his true freshman season backing up C.J. Stroud at Ohio State, transferred back to his home state before the 2022 season. There, he was rejuvenated in his faith thanks to the influence of his believing friends and his very faithful mother.

“I got a bunch of friends that go [to the University of Texas] and kind of help steer me in the right path,” Ewers said. “And just having all that and kind of experiencing life without a good relationship with Jesus, just kind of showing me how much I really do need Him.”

He continued later: “[My mom is] living proof of what it’s supposed to be like. Just everything that she’s done and everything that she’s shown me about her relationship with God and Jesus, I don’t think there’s a person closer to Jesus than her. Seeing what it’s done for her life, I’d be a fool not to trust what she’s telling me in everything that He’s done for her life.”

@rgiii

Quinn Ewers is the starting QB for the Texas Longhorns but he knows without God he is nothing. #Texas #Hookem #God #Faith #Religion

♬ Kawaii Aesthetic – LoES

Ewers has a tattoo on his right forearm that says “Luke 17:21,” and a tattoo with a cross and “Joshua 1:9” on his chest.

 

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A post shared by Quinn Ewers (@quinn_ewers)


“God is so good,” Ewers said after last season’s win over Alabama. “I can’t say that enough, how much God has put me through. He’s made me so strong.”

Texas now has Ewers back, and the Longhorns enter another week undefeated and the top-ranked team in the nation. They have yet to play a close game, winning by an average of 36.8 points per game. But perhaps their biggest test in their first season in the SEC now looms, when they welcome No. 5 Georgia to Austin on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.

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