Four years later, it’s hard to remember just how heralded Quinn Ewers was as a recruit. He became the first recruit at any position since 2016 to earn a perfect 1.0000 rating in the 247Sports composite, and joins Longhorns legend Vince Young as the only quarterback to hit the mark in the metric’s history (since 2000). When he decommitted from Texas in October 2020, it was the final nail in the coffin for Tom Herman, who was fired shortly thereafter. 

Ewers was so highly regarded that he reclassified so he could collect a seven-figure NIL contract a year early. No matter, he went from the No. 1 player in 2022 to the No. 1 player in 2021. Ewers used the most exclusive quarterback room in America, Ohio State, as a de facto study abroad program before ultimately ending up in Austin as Steve Sarkisian’s protégé. 

On Saturday, his college story ended with the 231st pick of the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft. He was 14th out of 14 quarterbacks selected, behind even FCS quarterbacks Tommy Mellott and Cam Miller. It was not the finish anyone expected for one of the most high-profile quarterback recruits in the history of the sport.

How did we get here, from No. 1 overall recruit to the seventh round? It’s a complicated story filled with the trappings of this era, injuries and the battle between cash grabs and legacy that makes him a case study in the impossible decisions asked of quarterbacks in this moment. 

Reclassification saga

The first time I watched Ewers play live was during the 2020 Texas Class 6A-D1 State Championship Game. Ironically, he played for Southlake Carroll against Clemson’s Cade Klubnik, who went on to become the No. 1 quarterback in the 2022 class after Ewers reclassified. Even competing against another highly ranked QB while dealing with injuries during a loss, Ewers was a man among boys. He threw for 350 yards against one of the top defenses in state history. 

What no one realized at the time was that they were watching Ewers’ final high school football game. Instead of riding into his senior year under heralded quarterback developer Riley Dodge, he suddenly reclassified so he could pursue seven figures in NIL deals, primarily with a kombucha company. He arrived on campus in August before the season after not going through either spring or summer drills. Ohio State made clear that they weren’t thrilled about the timing but still took him for his prodigious talents. 

There was little opportunity for Ohio State to dedicate any real development time to Ewers with C.J. Stroud, Kyle McCord and Jack Miller already on campus. Instead, Ewers essentially came, drove a massive truck he received through an NIL contract, collected checks, and then transferred to Texas. Ewers also benefitted from the NCAA’s new rule that allowed players to transfer without sitting out, so he could leave immediately and start. 

Did Ewers stunt his development by leaving a quarterback development factory in Southlake to be an afterthought in Columbus? Not necessarily, but it likely didn’t help. 

Injury woes

Even dating back to high school, Ewers struggled to stay healthy. He dealt with a core issue during his final high school season that cost him multiple games. After winning the starting job at Texas, he dealt with injury issues each of his three years. 

Ewers suffered major sprains of his SC joint (2022) and AC joint (2023) in his shoulders that cost him multiple games. In 2024, the core issues popped up again after a non-contact abdominal strain against UTSA. His efficiency fell from Year 2 to Year 3 after playing through some of the discomfort. 

Overall, Ewers missed seven starts across three years, which opened the door for Arch Manning, Maalik Murphy and Hudson Card to start in his wake. Ewers always fought back — his toughness was never appreciated enough — but it remains unclear how much the injuries have to do with losing some of the zip and accuracy he displayed during his sensational high school career. 

For many college football fans, it was confusing that Ewers was ever considered such a can’t-miss prospect with his limitations. Go watch his high school tape. It wasn’t always that way. 

Manning’s arrival at Texas

Ewers is one of the most touted quarterback recruits in the history of the sport. Unfortunately for him, his college career was often defined by one of the few who surpass him: Arch Manning, who was also a No. 1 overall quarterback recruit for 2023, but with the most famous name in football on his back. Whereas some wanted Ewers to see playing time at Ohio State when Stroud struggled early, the noise for Manning was raucous from the start. 

Sarkisian handled the situation about as well as possible. From the start, he was clear: Ewers was the starting quarterback. That was echoed by both Ewers and Manning, along with every other member of the team. Still, almost every week involved at least some question about the famous last name. 

Arch Manning in 2026 NFL Draft? Could the prospect of going No. 1 cut Texas QB’s college career short?

Will Backus

There were moments when the pressures of having a famous backup QB clearly impacted Ewers. He was pulled for a few drives near halftime of the 2024 Georgia game. Though he looked rattled on the sideline, Ewers came back in and played better. He also rushed back from his abdominal injury and never truly looked healthy.

Most teams would take a fourth season from a two-time all-conference quarterback. That was never the case at Texas. The Manning era starts now. 

Ewers’ legacy

Ewers potentially left millions of dollars on the table by turning down the transfer portal and entering the NFL Draft. Notre Dame and Miami were among the programs that reportedly did their homework on Ewers before he opted to turn pro. There’s no sugarcoating it: there’s a real chance that Ewers never makes that much money for the rest of his life. 

Despite his draft slot, Ewers had a tremendously successful college career. He led Texas to back-to-back national semifinals, the only team to accomplish the feat each of the past two seasons. Both times, they were one play away from making the national title game. The program had a top-five finish drought dating back to 2009, and Ewers led the Horns there in each of his last two seasons. Ewers threw for 9,128 yards and 68 touchdowns on 64.9% completion in three seasons — outstanding numbers for any pedigree. 

How much money did Quinn Ewers lose by not returning for NIL in college football, sliding in 2025 NFL Draft?

Richard Johnson

Frankly, there’s something to be said for leaving college football when it’s time. Ewers started three years at a blue-blood school and leaves as one of the top five greatest quarterbacks in the history of the program, behind only Colt McCoy and Vince Young post-integration. In an era when players are ruining legacies to chase short-term money, Ewers was even more valuable. Young, for example, has been hired multiple times as an athletic department ambassador. Ewers could easily go down a similar path with his reputation in Austin. 

If anything, Ewers’ decision to move on from college to the NFL without any guarantees is an emblem of how much he’s grown over the past four years. With the Miami Dolphins, Ewers finds a solid fit and a realistic chance to grow into a rostered quarterback behind Tua Tagovailoa and Zach Wilson. If it doesn’t work out, he’ll head into the world with a few million dollars in his bank account and the support of the UT network behind him. 

“I think about a lot of the people that come through this program over the last four years that have impacted the growth and trajectory of our program, and he’s right there near the top, if not at the top of the impact that he’s had, not only on the field but off the field,” Sarkisian said Monday. “His ability to help recruit other players come be part of our program. I think he was one of the first guys through all this talk about collective and all the things that were going on in the world of NIL, he never took money from our collective. All of what he did through NIL was his true Name, Image, and Likeness — the intent of the rule. On that front I’m very grateful for what he did for our program.”

Still, Ewers’ arc will be an instructive one about the complications of the modern era of being a college quarterback. Stock rises and falls faster than anyone can imagine — even for the No. 1 quarterback in the country. 

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Shortly after committing to Texas last year, Dia Bell signed his first NIL deal. Now, he’s adding another notable partnership to his portfolio.

Bell has inked an agreement with Gatorade. The partnership comes after he was named the 2024 Florida Gatorade Player of the Year as he threw for 2,597 yards and 29 touchdowns. He now joins Florida quarterback DJ Lagway as players from the state to win the award and sign a deal with Gatorade.

As he gets ready for his senior season at Plantation (Fla.) American Heritage, Beck’s $927,000 On3 NIL Valuation is one of the highest in high school football. His agreement with Gatorade is his second NIL deal after signing with Leaf Trading Cards two months after his commitent.

Bell is one of the top quarterbacks from the 2026 cycle and received an invitation to the Elite 11 Finals in Los Angeles this summer. A five-star prospect, he is the No. 14 overall player and top recruit from the state of Florida out of the 2026 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. In the updated On300 released last week, Bell came in as the No. 4 overall prospect and No. 2-ranked quarterback.

Off the field, Bell is one of the highest-profile high school football players and is setting himself up for NIL success at the next level. His $927,000 On3 NIL Valuation ranks No. 4 in the high school football NIL rankings.

Dia Bell scouting report

Dia Bell is the crown jewel of Texas’ 2026 recruiting class. The Longhorns have four commitments so far and currently sit at No. 12 in the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Ranking. Bell is the lone five-star so far, but gives Steve Sarkisian one of the top quarterbacks out of the cycle.

“Precision passer with the arm talent, size, and athleticism to translate to college football and beyond,” On3’s Charles Power wrote. “Measured in at around 6-foot-3, 190 pounds with a 10-inch hand before his junior season. Mechanically clean with a smooth throwing motion that he replicates with consistency. Has polished footwork that is married to his upper body. Shows high-level arm talent, delivering well-placed passes to multiple levels of the field. A dangerous operator from the pocket. Able to evade pressure, reset his feet, and fire. Throws a pretty deep ball. Was a first-year starter as a sophomore and showed marked improvement while playing top competition as a junior. Flashed an added playmaking element and rushing component to his game down the stretch of his junior season. Ripped off long runs, including two 40+ yard touchdown runs against top programs.

“Completed 70.6% of his passes for 2,597 yards (11.4 yards per attempt) and 29 touchdowns against six interceptions in 2025. Also rushed for 561 yards and five touchdowns. Also has a basketball background. Is the son of long-time NBA veteran guard Raja Bell. The level of improvement displayed throughout his junior season should be taken as an encouraging sign of his long-term upside.”

Florida had one NFL Draft pick in 2024, but it was a first round selection in Ricky Pearsall. This year, the Gators had no one taken in the first three rounds but still ended up with a healthy seven guys taken.

Those events are unusual enough, but UF in this draft really showed how times have changed with how talent moves work in the last few years. Let’s look at some specific history to put this in context.

I am today looking specifically at drafts that happened after a head coach’s third season. The 2025 draft, after all, was the one after Billy Napier’s third campaign.

It can be a difficult time to get a lot of picks for a school. The draft-eligible players have generally been signees from the head coach’s transitional class or holdovers from the old head coach’s final class or two. However transitional classes are typically small and not that highly rated, as I’ve gone over plenty of times in the past. Also even in the pre-free transfer era, it was common for a lot of transfer attrition when head coaches turn over. Plus if the former coach was obviously headed towards a firing, his last class or two might’ve been less good due to the better recruits not wanting to board a sinking ship.

I went through and looked at the draft after each of Florida’s head coaches since Ron Zook to see what there is to learn here. Draft picks went into three buckets. Holdovers are anyone who played for the prior head coach; in Zook’s case, that’d be anyone who suited up for Steve Spurrier. Signees would be any traditional high school or JUCO recruits who signed for the head coach in question. Transfers then are anyone who transferred into the program under the specified head coach.

Here is what I found:

The one that sticks out as most strange is probably the first. Not a single Spurrier player got drafted after Zook’s third (and final) season. The last of any to hear their name called came the prior year’s draft in 2004, which followed the 2003 season. The Gators still managed three guys taken thanks to Zook’s recruiting prowess: high school signees Channing Crowder and Ciatrick Fason along with JUCO signee Reynaldo Hill. Crowder was the highest guy taken as a third rounder.

The 2008 draft, after Urban Meyer’s third season in 2007, saw even fewer at just two: first rounder Derrick Harvey and third rounder Bubba Caldwell. UF had just seen off nine selections the year before after Meyer’s first national title, and they had a lot of younger talent getting ready for another title run the next season.

The Gators bounced back with four picks in the 2014 draft, which came after Will Muschamp’s third year in 2013. It was mostly due to holdovers from Meyer’s final blowout recruiting class in 2010: Dominique Easley (first round), Jaylen Watkins (fourth), and Ronald Powell (fifth). Jon Halapio (sixth round), who signed the year before in 2009, was the only exception there. The only Muschamp signee to go pro early was Marcus Roberson, but he went undrafted.

Jim McElwain did Muschamp one better by having one of his own signees meet the commish. There were a couple of early round picks thanks to Coach Boom’s eye for defensive talent, and a specialist finally appears. The list is first rounder Taven Bryan, second rounder Duke Dawson, the one signee in fourth rounder Antonio Callaway, fifth rounder Johnny Townsend, and sixth rounder Marcell Harris.

The 2021 draft class that came after Mullen’s third year in 2020 is the high-water mark here. He was the first since Zook to have two signees get drafted, one somewhat predictable in versatile tight end Kyle Pitts (first round) and one very unexpected in kicker Evan McPherson (fifth). Rare is the specialist who declares early for the draft.

The number is also juiced a bit by two rare fifth-year senior selections in Kyle Trask (second round) and Stone Forsythe (sixth). True pro prospects usually, though not always, don’t stay in school that long. There is also a good chance that Marco Wilson (fourth) declares the year before if his career wasn’t set back by injury. Wilson came from McElwain’s low-key quite impressive 2017 recruiting class, along with Kadarius Toney (first), Shawn Davis (fifth), and Tedarrell Slaton (fifth). Mullen did a good job of making a meal from the groceries Mac bought in his final go-round.

Which brings us to Napier. For the first time, there isn’t a zero in the Transfers column. In case you don’t have the names memorized yet, they are Chimere Dike (fourth round), Cam Jackson (fifth), Graham Mertz (sixth), and Trikweze Bridges (seventh).

It’s not that none of the other coaches had transfers selected in early drafts. For example Meyer had Ryan Smith and Mullen had Jonathan Greenard, both of them one-year grad transfers, taken in the drafts after their second seasons. Transfers are just so much more common now that you’d have to either be terrible at the portal or a near-abstainer like Dabo Swinney to not have any transfer draftees at a Power 4 program. Recall that last year’s one pick was a transfer who Napier had picked up.

Mullen got the boot for many reasons, several of which boiled down to his recruiting. In an “exceptions that prove the rule” showing, the two holdovers were one of two 5-stars that Mullen signed in four seasons (Jason Marshall, fifth) and an Aussie punter (Jeremy Crawshaw, sixth). Mullen did at least get a commitment from the one Napier signee (Shemar James, fifth), though he decommitted and later re-committed to Florida under Napier.

In a sign of the times, three players who transferred out of Florida were taken in this draft. One, sixth round pick Antwaun Powell-Ryland, transferred out a couple seasons ago. But Princely Umanmielen, picked before any Gator in the third round, and Trevor Etienne, taken only behind Dike in the fourth, only left after last season and easily would’ve been welcomed back had they not entered the portal.

If you imagine no transfers had happened and just look at players who originally signed with UF in this draft, you’d see six total: four holdovers in Umanmielen, Marshall, Powell-Ryland, and Crawshaw, along with two signees in James and Etienne. That mix wouldn’t have stood out from the results for McElwain and Mullen.

So what did we learn here?

For a draft at this point in a head coach’s sequence, the thing that had been providing the bulk of the selections was the prior coach’s final recruiting class. Spurrier’s last one was very small at just 15 guys, and though it had some good college players, it didn’t have many pro prospects. Zook’s final class was bigger at 23 and had a higher percentage of good college players, but it still had just three total draft selections (Harvey, plus Brandon Siler the year before and Cornelius Ingram the year after).

But then Muschamp got four holdovers from Meyer, McElwain got four from Muschamp, and Mullen got six from McElwain — but four from Mac’s final recruiting class. Napier got just one this year from Mullen’s final class in Marshall. Crawshaw was a 2020 signee, and actually so were Umanmielen and Powell-Ryland if you’re counting along at home.

That said, the new era of college football shows up for Napier beyond all the transfers. That final Mullen class still has more picks to go out of Gainesville. Jake Slaughter, Tyreak Sapp, and Austin Barber all signed in 2021, and each are real draft prospects for next year.

Slaughter, as an All-American, easily could’ve gotten picked this year. Sapp, due to body changes from Napier’s staff moving him inside and then back out, and Barber, due to some injury history, would’ve been more borderline. All are back in college football in no small part due to NIL making it possible for guys who aren’t certain early-round picks to stay for longer by removing some or all of the financial risk.

Whatever Sapp and Barber are making in NIL this year, I would guess that it’s a healthy chunk of what a seventh-round pick makes in a year, and that’s if the seventh-round pick makes the team. I’m sure it’s more than the $101,474 signing bonus that their former teammate Bridges gets as a seventh round pick, and he may not make much more than that if he gets cut before the preseason.

Florida could’ve had earlier picks if the likes of Slaguhter or Caleb Banks declared for the draft. The Gators maybe could’ve had more picks if Sapp and Barber (or a handful of others) did too.

In any event, the breakdown here shows in a concrete way how the NIL and free-transfer rules have changed how talent flows through the college ranks and then onto the professional level.

1st

Ramirez singled to right field, RBI (2-2 BKBK); Grant advanced to second; Pola advanced to third; Clements scored.

1

0

1st

Conway advanced to second on a passed ball, advanced to third on a muffed throw by p; Langford scored.

1

1

1st

Putz doubled to left field, RBI (3-2 BSFFBB); Conway scored.

1

2

1st

Sieler homered down the rf line, 2 RBI (0-1 K); Vallimont scored.

1

4

1st

Erickson homered to left field, RBI (1-2 FFB).

1

5

2nd

Pola homered to right center, 3 RBI (2-0 BB); Clements scored; Slimp scored.

4

5

4th

Clements flied out to cf, SF, RBI (1-0 B); Terry advanced to third; Slimp scored, unearned.

5

5

5th

Slimp doubled to center field, 2 RBI (2-1 BBK); Mujica advanced to third; Curo scored; Stephens scored.

7

5

5th

Terry singled to right field, 2 RBI (3-1 BFBB); Slimp scored; Mujica scored.

9

5

5th

Putz homered to left field, RBI (2-1 BBF).

9

6

5th

Vallimont homered to center field, RBI (0-2 FK).

9

7

6th

Grant homered to center field, 2 RBI (2-2 BKFB); Woolery scored.

11

7

6th

Bragg homered to left field, RBI (2-1 KBB).

12

7

6th

Putz singled through the right side, RBI (2-2 BFKFB); Conway advanced to third; Langford scored.

12

8

Speaking Monday at the Touchdown Club of Houston, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian was asked about Quinn Ewers‘ selection by the Miami Dolphins in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft. While he expressed disappointment about Ewers’ slide, Sarkisian provided his opinion on the discourse surrounding Ewers and his decision not to return to college.

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In doing so, he presented what might be considered a surprising piece of information.

“I feel for Quinn,” Sarkisian said. “He was a great player for us. I think about a lot of the people who have come into this program over the past four years that have impacted the growth and the trajectory of our program, and he’s right there near the top if not at the top with the impact that he’s had not only on the field but off the field. His ability to help recruit other players to come be part of our program.

“Through all this talk about collective and the things that were going on in the world of NIL. He never took money from our collective. All of what he did through NIL was his true name, image, and likeness. The intent of the rule. On that front, I’m very grateful for what he did for our program.”

Ewers was picked in the seventh round by the Miami Dolphins. He was the twelfth quarterback picked in the draft, behind signal-callers like Kurtis Rourke and Graham Mertz. A number of loud opinions in recent days have expressed surprise that Ewers elected to go to the NFL instead of collecting a paycheck for another season in college football. Sarkisian pushed against that.

“I also think it’s ironic that so many things are written and talked about the players from the negative standpoint that transfer schools or stay in school to take more money like it’s a negative,” Sarkisian said. “All of a sudden, here’s a guy that said ‘I want to leave a legacy at Texas. I want to go play in the NFL.’ Now they’re knocking him for not taking the money in college.”

All that in mind, Sarkisian expressed optimism that Ewers’ fit with Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel would be a great one.

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“I think all of us wish he would have gotten drafted higher, but at the end of the day if I could have picked a place that I think is a great fit for him, I think Miami is a great fit,” Sarkisian said. “Systematically, what Coach McDaniel does is if not exactly the same very similar to what we do. There’s going to be a level of comfort for him in style of play. He’s got a lot of great weapons on the outside. It’s a warm weather place. In the end, I think it’s a good fit for him. Now it’s about taking advantage about the opportunity that presents itself.”