What was Steve Sarkisian’s main goal during the offseason for Quinn Ewers?

Entering the 2024 offseason, Texas Longhorns head football coach Steve Sarkisian had a message for his junior quarterback Quinn Ewers.

“This is your team, go out there and let’s lead it,” Sarkisian said during an interview with The Herd with Colin Cowherd.

Ewers is entering his third season as the Longhorns’ starter and his growth has been evident each year. In his first year, Texas went 5-7, his second year, 8-4, and his third year, 12-2. Despite leading Texas to its first College Football Playoff appearance, he was not the team’s most vocal leader.

Texas has several new faces on the team and lost well-known vocal leaders in wide receiver Jordan Whittington and linebacker Jaylon Ford to the 2024 NFL Draft, forcing Ewers to step up.

“Really, (the offseason) was about leadership,” Sarkisian said. “We knew we were going to have to replace all those pieces, we knew we were going to have to bring in some transfers, we knew we were going to have to rely on some young players on the perimeter. … It was going to take Quinn to step into that leadership role that Jordan Whittington and Jaylon Ford and those guys had left behind. That was our focus and he’s done a tremendous job in that regard.”

Ewers’ work with his new teammates during the offseason paid off, as he started the season without missing a beat. In the season opener against Colorado State, he threw for 260 yards and scored three touchdowns.

He blended in perfectly with his receivers, new and old, and earned an easy win despite throwing an early interception.

Now, Sarkisian, Ewers and the rest of the Texas Longhorns will travel to Ann Arbor for the first regular-season matchup between Texas and Michigan with a chance to snap the Wolverines’ 16-game winning streak.

Cowherd said he believes this Texas team is a national championship-caliber team and the Longhorns will have a chance to prove it against the defending national champions on Saturday.