Breaking: Star QB Quinn Ewers Stuns Football World by Withdrawing from NFL Draft and Committing to Tennessee Volunteers After Short Visit
In a move that has sent shockwaves throughout the football community, star quarterback Quinn Ewers has officially withdrawn his name from the 2025 NFL Draft and announced his commitment to the University of Tennessee Volunteers. The stunning decision comes just days after a brief but impactful visit to Knoxville, Tennessee, which evidently left a lasting impression on the former Texas Longhorn standout.
Ewers, widely projected as a first-round pick and considered one of the most NFL-ready quarterbacks in recent memory, was expected to forgo his final year of collegiate eligibility and make the leap to the professional ranks. Instead, he has opted for an unexpected detour—returning to college football, but not at Texas, where he had starred for two seasons, but in the orange and white of Tennessee.
Sources close to Ewers describe his visit to Tennessee as “transformative.” The quarterback reportedly spent time with Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel, offensive coordinator Joey Halzle, and several players on the current roster. The discussions centered around the team’s aggressive offensive philosophy, a system that has launched quarterbacks into national prominence in recent years and is tailor-made for Ewers’ deep-ball accuracy and quick release.
“I felt something special in Knoxville,” Ewers said in a statement released via social media. “From the moment I stepped on campus, I knew that this was a place where I could continue to grow, both as a player and a person. Coach Heupel’s vision for the offense and the culture they’re building at Tennessee really inspired me. I’m excited to be a Volunteer.”
This move is unprecedented not only because of the timing—coming so close to the draft—but also because of the magnitude of Ewers’ profile. A former five-star recruit and one of the highest-rated quarterback prospects of the modern era, Ewers had already proven himself at Texas, leading the Longhorns to a College Football Playoff appearance and earning All-Big 12 honors.
Tennessee fans erupted on social media following the announcement, heralding the arrival of a quarterback many consider capable of vaulting the program into legitimate national title contention. After years of rebuilding under Heupel, the Volunteers had already begun to reassert themselves as an SEC power, but the addition of Ewers is likely to catapult expectations into overdrive.
From a broader perspective, Ewers’ decision is also likely to spark debate about the shifting dynamics of college football, especially with the advent of lucrative NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) deals. Although terms of any potential NIL agreements have not been disclosed, speculation suggests that Tennessee’s burgeoning NIL infrastructure played a role in enticing the quarterback.
Ewers’ decision reverberates beyond Knoxville, too. NFL teams that had been eyeing him as a potential franchise cornerstone will now have to reassess their draft boards. Meanwhile, the SEC landscape has dramatically shifted with the addition of one of the nation’s top signal-callers to an already potent Tennessee roster.
As the dust settles on one of the most surprising decisions in recent college football history, one thing is clear—Quinn Ewers has reignited the flames of excitement in Rocky Top. The Volunteers’ 2025 season just became must-watch football.