The top-ranked high school football player in the Class of 2022 is weighing a major decision that could chart the course for others like him in the future amid the changing landscape of college sports. Quinn Ewers, a five-star quarterback committed to Ohio State, told Yahoo Sports he is "leaning toward" forgoing his senior season to join the Buckeyes ahead of the 2021 campaign, which would allow him to benefit sooner off his name, image and likeness.
Ewers could earn nearly a million dollars over the next year, according to Yahoo, as he already has offers from companies that he would not be able to accept as a high school athlete in Texas. The 6-foot-3 signal-caller might not be in position to see the field immediately for the Buckeyes, but that's no certainty since the Big Ten favorites do not return a single quarterback with in-game passing experience at the collegiate level.
"I don't really know, I don't have a final decision made quite yet," Ewers told Yahoo Sports. "I'm leaning toward leaving and going up to Ohio, just so I don't have to deal with UIL stuff and can get comfortable with Ohio and Columbus and start to learn."
Understandably, however, his family expressed uncertainty to Yahoo over whether Ewers skipping his senior season at powerhouse Southlake Carroll near Dallas would be the right decision. But on the flip side, there is the promise of financial opportunity in the college game that is unavailable to Ewers currently as a high school star in Texas.
"We don't need the money," Ewers told Yahoo Sports. "It's just the principle of it."
Ewers is regarded as a potential future first-round NFL Draft pick after leading Southlake Carroll to an appearance in the Texas 6A D-I state championship game last season.
