Football
The Dotted Line: Quinn Ewers set to become only fourth five-star quarterback for Texas since 2000
Posted August 17th, 2020
Texas caused a massive national recruiting ripple on Friday when five-star quarterback Quinn Ewers picked the Longhorns over 40 other schools, including national powers Alabama, LSU, Ohio State and Oklahoma. The 6-3, 195-pound Southlake Carroll prospect is the top-ranked recruit in the country for the 2022 cycle. He would become the first five-star quarterback to sign with the Longhorns since Garrett Gilbert in 2009. In fact, he’d be just the fourth five-star quarterback to sign with Texas since 2000.
How did the rest work out?
2000: Chance Mock, The Woodlands
FYI: 6-2, 190; five stars; No. 3-ranked quarterback; No. 17 overall
Mock couldn’t carve a role as a starter for Texas after being sandwiched around some great players in Chris Simms and Major Applewhite before him and then Vince Young after. His most productive season came in 2003 when he passed for 1,469 yards and 16 touchdown passes to just two interceptions as a junior. He attempted only nine passes in his senior season as Young took Texas to new heights.
2002: Vince Young, Houston Madison
FYI: 6-5, 200; five stars; No. 1-ranked quarterback; No. 1 overall
Young is the only nationally top-ranked recruit to sign with Texas since 2000. He led the 2002 cyce and took a redshirt season his first year on campus. The legend of VY started as a redshirt freshman in 2002, when he went 6-1 as a starter and was named the Big 12’s offensive freshman of the year by the conference coaches. He led Texas to consecutive Rose Bowls as a sophomore and junior, and gave Texas its only national championship in the last 40 years as a junior when the Longhorns bested USC. Young was a runner-up for the 2005 Heisman Trophy as a junior and was a 2006 first-round draft pick by the Tennessee Titans.
2009: Garrett Gilbert, Lake Travis
FYI: 6-4, 205; five stars; No. 2-ranked quarterback; No. 13 overall
Gilbert never lived up to the hype for Texas despite a promising start, when the freshman was thrust into the national championship game after Colt McCoy was injured early against Alabama. Just as McCoy helped Texas transition from Young, Gilbert was supposed to help Texas move on after McCoy. But in his first year as a starter, Texas slumped to 5-7 in 2010 and he eventually lost his starting job to Case McCoy and David Ash in 2011. He transferred to SMU and is currently Baker Mayfield’s backup with the Cleveland Browns.
2022: Quinn Ewers, Southlake Carroll
FYI: 6-3, 195; five stars; No. 1-ranked quarterback; No. 1 overall
… if Ewers eventually signs, of course. The Longhorns must keep him pledged through signing day of the 2022 class to place him officially on this list. He’d become the first five-star quarterback to choose Texas since Gilbert in 2009. He led Southlake Carroll to the Class 6A Division I state semifinals as a sophomore before his team was beaten by Ja’Quinden Jackson and a loaded Duncanville squad. Ewers is more evolved as a passer than Young was in 2002, though he lacks the freakish running ability that VY brought to the field. Ewers possesses a strong, accurate arm. He threw for more than 4,000 yards in 2019, passing for 45 touchdowns to just three interceptions.
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