As the head coach of a college football program, it’s your job to sell your players to the next level. Perhaps there are some brutally honest conversations to be had, but in addition to ensuring your student-athletes are getting an education (and a degree), handing them to the NFL better than you found them is your empirical duty.
Now, some head coaches are better at this than others. Some programs are far and away better at developing talent that is ready to be a professional football player on Day 1. And maybe the Texas Longhorns are one of those programs. That said, few NFL Draft evaluators see Quinn Ewers as a quarterback who’s earned the “pro-ready” label.
During The Herd on Thursday, Colin Cowherd said as much, highlighting in an interview with Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian that his outgoing quarterback might be better off going to a team where he doesn’t have to play immediately. That said, Cowherd wanted to know what the “thing” about Ewers was “pro-ready” as he entered the process ahead of April’s 2025 NFL Draft.
“The media coverage and brand sets you up for the NFL. There’s not a throw he can’t make.”@CoachSark breaks down what makes Quinn Ewers a pro-ready QB pic.twitter.com/okzFaFXJbB
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) February 27, 2025
“I’m going to go the other way; I’m gonna go why it makes him pro-ready,” Sarkisian explained. “I think one, playing in our market. You know, Austin, I think we’ve got 1.5 million people in the city of Austin, with no pro sports, right? With no NFL, no NBA, no Major League Baseball. And so, the microscope you’re under, the scrutiny, the media coverage, the national media coverage, the having to be at your best under that, I think sets you up and gets you ready for the NFL.
“Where you’re not so consumed with what other people think, but rather, ‘I need to focus. I need to prepare. I need to take care of my body. I need to be in the game plan.’ I think those things are really helpful to go along with the physical attributes. There’s not a throw that guy can’t make.”
At the end of the day, every head coach has a responsibility to prepare their players for the next level.
And while Sarkisian’s defense of Ewers carries weight, it’s clear that calling him “pro-ready” might be a stretch. Ewers has the arm talent, but the real question is whether he’s ready for the NFL’s pressure cooker. As Sarkisian rightly pointed out, the scrutiny of a place like Austin could prepare him, but when it comes to the NFL, all the talk about “market size” won’t matter if you can’t deliver when it counts.
Time will tell if Quinn Ewers is truly ready for the spotlight.
