The Miami Dolphins made the decision to bolster their quarterback room in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft. That wasn’t surprising, given the health concerns surrounding the teams starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Quinn Ewers decision to enter the draft, however, was a head scratcher.
“The estimated slot value of pick No. 231 in the draft is around $4.3 million over four years,” wrote Richard Johnson for CBS Sports. “But, as a starting quarterback with SEC experience, had he gone into the transfer portal, Ewers could have fetched easily over $3 million, and maybe even as much as $4 million with the right suitors in the mix considering Carson Beck’s deal.”
So why did the quarterback with day three appraisal choose to make the jump to the league? Well, as he told On3’s Nick Schultz in an exclusive phone interview, it actually wasn’t much of a debate.
“There was no doubt,” Ewers said. “I was ready to continue on my journey. It never really even crossed my mind to come back another year.”
Why Ewers Felt Comfortable Leaving
Ewers is back in the news for the first time since the NFL draft after he announced he would be signing an exclusive deal with Panini America, a trading card company, reportedly worth $3 million. This prompted the interview with Schultz that became a tell-all on his decision to leave the University of Texas.
“I definitely felt that I was prepared and ready to take on this next journey and this next phase of my career and enter the NFL Draft,” Ewers told Schultz. “Because I was under Sark for three years, played a lot of football and have a lot of experience – which is, really, why I decided to end up coming out and going to the NFL, because I honestly feel like my game translates better to the NFL than it does in college.”
Ewers was a five star recruit coming out of high school and spent three years with the Texas Longhorns. In those three years, Ewers brought the Horns their first Big 10 title since 2009, and helped the team make the College Football Playoffs in back to back seasons. It was his time at Texas that he says prepared him for this jump.
“It’s the best college program that gets you ready for an NFL team and an NFL franchise because of the way that it’s run and the way that Sark runs it,” Ewers said. “He’s coached in the NFL – he’s coached in Atlanta for a couple years. And I feel like he just brought that mindset down to us at Texas. He really just treats us like we’re grown, professional football players at the end of the day if you earn that.”
Similarities Between Miami And Texas
On paper, it is easy for a football fan to see the similarities between the Miami Dolphins offense and what Steve Sarkisian tries to do with the Texas Longhorns. An offense built on speedy receivers, anchoring on a two back rotation that ultimately runs a zone scheme. Ewers says the resemblance is palpable.
“Within this offensive scheme, I feel like we do a lot of NFL stuff, obviously, because his offense was in the NFL and it succeeded in the NFL,” Ewers concluded. “He brought that down to college, and that’s what I ran. Funny enough, we do a lot of stuff that Miami does, too.”
