We are two weeks away from the draft night, but Quinn Ewers still remains one of the most unsettled prospects in the mock draft prediction. Some draft gurus have him in the second round, while others think he won’t rise above the late third round. It’s obvious why Ewers’ draft ship is close to sinking. The injury-ridden 2024 marked one of his clumsiest years in the burnt orange. You can point as many fingers as you want at the San Antonio kid. But his legacy in Austin can never be traded for. And the reason reaches beyond his numbers.

When Ewers managed to rack up a total of 3472 yards, 32 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions throughout an underwhelming season, his former head coach deemed him an unsung hero of the program. Steve Sarkisian has always been Quin Ewers’ strongest advocate. This is not the first time he sang praise for how the 22-year-old showcased dead resilience to finish the season. Fans and veterans called him extra loyal and extra possessive towards his QB1. They vehemently blamed him for making Arch Manning wait under the radar longer than he should. But the Texas head coach never regretted even a bit of what he said about Ewers. Rather, he thinks Ewers didn’t get enough credit for what he brought to the table. This, he dropped a bombshell to back up his favor.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian sat down with Longhorn legend Colt McCoy on his “Clean Pocket” podcast on Tuesday to reflect on Quinn’s tumultuous journey through his program. “I just don’t think he gets enough credit for what he’s meant to this program. But also for the resilience that he showed throughout his career here,” Sarkisian told McCoy. “I think it’s a great trait for a quarterback, especially in the NFL.”

Quinn Ewers transferred to Texas in 2021 after an uneventful freshman season at Ohio. The athlete who spent his formative years in the suburb of Southlake, Texas, was finally back home. He had an unfathomable wish to play for the Longhorns since childhood. But the decision took a lot of courage back then, as Texas wasn’t at its best. But Quinn was a ride-or-die asset for them. “Quinn went through the storm with us as this program built, you know, we were coming off 5-7, and he’s like I’m going to transfer back to Texas. It was like, okay, you know, and he could see like, hey, we’re not going to be a finished product his first year.” Sarkisian confessed the lackluster record of the school coming fresh off an 8-5 season thereupon.

Years have passed, and the Horns transformed into a national powerhouse, with Quinn seeing and rafting through it all. In the process, he ended up putting his body on the line several times, earning flak, but kept going and never complained. “He is playing lights out, gets hurt against Bama, and then gets himself healthy. Gets hurt against Houston. You know, he gets himself healthy, and you know, he’s throwing a fade to Mitchell, which, I still think, is pass interference that they don’t call to go to play for a national championship,” the Texas HC divulged how injury has been a constant challenge in his path.

It’s easy to throw dirt on his readiness to hit the pro due to the constant injuries. But the way he has stuck there in the field through thick and thin, never bothering about his comfort, is something people fail to mention. Sarkisian couldn’t be more grateful and proud of what Quinn has put up with all these years.

But particularly in 2024, it was the toughest pill to swallow. “This year comes around, gets an oblique strain. I know, like the next week, David Carr gets the same injury from New Orleans for the Saints and doesn’t return all season, yeah. Quinn fights his way back. Gets into it. Gets a high ankle sprain against Kentucky on a hip drop tackle, which isn’t illegal in college football but is illegal in the NFL. Yeah, and it plays through,” the veteran head coach reflected on the backstory of Ewers’ 2024.

Will Arch Manning have to put in the same effort as Quinn? Well, Sarkisian doesn’t think so. But he still has to bear with the same fans’ quirks.

Steve Sarkisian put Arch Manning on notice with a fan sentiment alert 

Arch Manning has all the tools to be a breakout star in his debut year at the starting gig. There have been talks that all the early hype and the weight of his last name can make it a little overbearing for the kid. But at least he will get to run a complete program under Sarkisian. It’s highly unlikely for him to be an easy scapegoat for an overall doomed program. Also, Arch got two years as a backup behind Quin and learned a lot from Quinn.

So, when he jumps onto the rope at the top of the offense, he will potentially be in a safe space. But Sarkisian had to warn him of an inevitable bump. Arch knows what he signed up for. “There’s an expectation that people have, right, and Arch is going to figure this out really quickly, too, right now. He’s the prodigal son. But the first interception. It’s going to happen,” the Texas coach said while drawing the prelude of the highly hyped-up Manning era at Texas.

Even when Quinn led the program to its first conference title in while, within a year of his signing, fans couldn’t let go of his interceptions at all. So, that’s a grey area for Manning as well. While Sarkisian knows fans have a different craze for the third-generation Manning, he can’t help but expect some heat. “I love our fans – they love the backup quarterback, but they hate interceptions. So those are coming.”

Time will tell who among Arch Manning and Quinn Ewers did their respective parts for the program better and set a more distinctive legacy for the years to come.