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In SEC Media Days debut, Texas’ Quinn Ewers displays what Steve Sarkisian is most proud of

Sark touted Ewers’ emotional development while making some bold remarks about Texas’ future in the SEC.

Quinn Ewers made his debut Wednesday at SEC Media Days looking like he’d left his horse hitched in front of the Omni. Boots, hat, longhorn belt buckle. As fashion statements go, it beat his famous mullet. Give him that. But Steve Sarkisian seemed to like it, and not because he’s big on cowboy themes.

He liked the swagger to pull it off.

The swagger is different.

Swagger is good.

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Case in point: Going into his third and doubtless final season at Texas, Ewers has evolved from a former Southlake Carroll guy having a bad hair day “just trying to survive,” as Sark put it, to a playoff quarterback to the cover of a video game. To be precise, he shares the cover of EA Sports College Football 25, released this week after a 10-year hiatus, with Michigan’s Donovan Edwards and Colorado’s Travis Hunter, potentially the best two-way college football player since Charles Woodson.

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Of course, making the cover of a video game — technically, two covers if you count the deluxe edition shot from the Cotton Bowl tunnel — doesn’t necessarily mean you’re the nation’s best quarterback. Carson Beck of Georgia is considered a better pro prospect, as is Shedeur Sanders, Hunter’s teammate and Deion’s progeny.

But the kind of exposure a video game evokes says something about how far he’s come, even if it doesn’t guarantee how far he takes Texas in its maiden SEC season.

First things first, though: What’s it like to play yourself in a video game?

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“The throws I know I can make,” he said, smiling, “aren’t being made.”

For the uninitiated, this might not sound like much, but, by Ewers standards, this is pretty much the equivalent of Joe Namath guaranteeing a Super Bowl win or Aaron Rodgers claiming he expects “greatness” of himself. Ewers isn’t much for talking big. Or at all. He likes to hunt when he isn’t fishing. Solitary habits of a solitary man. He isn’t going on any darkness retreats. Won’t match wits with Peyton Manning. Won’t take a locker room by the throat like Tom Brady.

Sure won’t borrow Joe Burrow’s fur coat.

But Sark says he sees the difference in his quarterback. It’s more than just his duds.

“His emotional development,” he said, “is something that has instilled a ton of confidence in everybody in our building. You know, he walks in that building like he’s the starting quarterback for the university and a top-five program. And I think that has permeated throughout our locker room. Even the way he’s carrying himself today is drastically different than maybe how he carried himself a year ago.

“To me, that is probably the biggest thing now.”

Not the numbers, in other words. Sark knows Ewers must continue to improve on the field as a passer and decision-maker. The onus grows after the Longhorns lost 13 players to the NFL, including Xavier Worthy, Adonai Mitchell, Jonathon Brooks, Ja’Tavion Sanders and Jordan Whittington on offense. At least early, before replacements assume their rightful roles, Ewers will have to carry the offense at times.

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History suggests he’s trending the right direction. He was much better last season than his first. According to Pro Football Focus, he cut his turnover-worthy play rate from 3.6% to 1.7% and improved his passing grade from 70.9 to 85.6.

Sark wants more than just numbers, though. He wants it all. This was his theme in his nearly 13-minute opening remarks.

“We’ve got a ton of respect for this conference and the teams in this conference,” he said, “but we’re gonna go attack it. We’re gonna go try to win a conference championship, because that’s why we’re at the University of Texas.”

Safe to say the tone of Sark’s remarks was bolder than any of his predecessors at the podium. He seemed to be sending a message not only to his new playmates but his players, as well.

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His quarterback, in particular.

The lingering image of Ewers from last year’s semifinal run isn’t his last pass in a loss this close to Washington; it’s a picture from media day at the Superdome the week before. In it, he’s sitting alone at a media table, peering over his shoulder at his crowd-favorite backup, Arch Manning, the hub of a media frenzy. In truth, the image is a little misleading. Manning was so popular then because it was the media’s first real opportunity to talk to him in depth. But it was telling, nonetheless. Any other quarterback of a semifinalist would draw a crowd. Few quarterbacks would have cared as little that they didn’t.

But there’s a fine line between not caring what people think and looking like it’s all too big for you. Sarkisian, who has big plans for his team, can’t afford any misconceptions, especially in his locker room.

“The thing that I’m most proud about him,” Sark said of Ewers, “is his leadership.

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“This guy is exuding confidence right now.”

“Exuding” might be a stretch. Leading “has gotten a lot easier for me,” Ewers said. He knows that becoming what he calls a “vocal leader” will help this team through the adversity it will surely face in the grind of the SEC. To that end, he’s hanging out more, taking teammates to dinner. He can afford it. Besides NIL, he got $600 for appearing on the cover of the video game. Called it “an honor,” even if his avatar isn’t as good as he is. Told us he’d played Oklahoma the night before.

How’d that go?

“About as good as it could.”

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Swagger, such as it is.

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