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About the Author: Matt Matera
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For many years we’ve all been dissecting the playing style and machinations of Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield. That’s bound to happen when Mayfield was a former number one overall pick who had a decorated college football career at Oklahoma. Baker Mayfield continuously gets lumped into rankings and comparisons with his peers at the position, but what we don’t hear as much is current quarterback prospects in college getting their games compared to that of Mayfield’s.
Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
That was up until this instance, when NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah made the comparison to a quarterback that is entering the draft after this season. The irony is that this player comes from a school that Baker Mayfield has absolute disdain for.
In a recently published article, Jeremiah did a scouting report on Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, who is going into his third year as a starter for the Longhorns. When discussing who Ewers reminds him of as an NFL quarterback, the ideal match was the Sooner alum in Mayfield. Here’s what was said about it.
Quinn Ewers Linked To Baker Mayfield
“I couldn’t come up with a perfect comp for Ewers after studying the three games. The first name that popped into my head was a throwback to my younger days as a scout: Kevin Kolb. Something about Ewers’ delivery and play style evoked that old-school name. However, the more game tape I watched, the more I thought of Baker Mayfield. Both guys have a quick twitch in everything they do — seeing the field, setting up in the pocket and delivering the ball.
“There’s a moxie and playmaking skill set to build around with both guys. Mayfield has really blossomed in Tampa Bay after bouncing around the league for the past few years. I don’t think Ewers is quite as polished as Mayfield was at the same point in his college career, but I do see similar upside and potential.”
Texas QB Quinn Ewers – Photo by: USA Today
There’s a bit of humor in these two quarterbacks being connected with their schools being rivals. Every year Texas and Oklahoma play in the Red River Rivalry, which is one of the most highly publicized and coveted rivalry games in college football. It usually takes place in the first or second week of October and is played on a neutral site at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.
Baker Mayfield has gone 2-1 in those games. Ewers has gone 1-1 but will have a chance to break the tie this season. In the three games Mayfield played, the final score each time was decided by seven points or less. Ewers and the Longhorns had a blowout win against the Sooners winning the 49-0, then had an absolute classic of game last season with Oklahoma winning 34-30 scoring a late touchdown.
QBs Coming Off Great Seasons
Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
Each quarterback found a great deal of success last season. Ewers threw for 3,479 yards and 22 passing touchdowns leading the Longhorns to the college football playoffs before losing to Washington in the semifinals. When Texas won the Big 12 Championship by defeating Oklahoma State 49-21, Ewers broke the Big 12 Championship single game in passing yards with 452 while throwing four touchdowns. Ewers won MVP of that game and also cashed in this offseason as he was one of three players on the cover of the highly anticipated EA Sports College Football 25 video game coming out next week.
Bucs fans will know that Baker Mayfield had a career resurgence coming to Tampa Bay. He threw for 4,044 yards and 28 touchdowns as the Bucs won the NFC South, defeated the Eagles in the first round before losing to the Lions in a very close game in the divisional round. Mayfield also made the Pro Bowl and won MVP of the game. He’s had a busy offseason as well, signing a three-year $100 million contract with the Bucs and also becoming a new dad in April.
Depending on where Ewers ends up getting drafted, maybe we will see these quarterbacks play against each other in game next season or at a later date.
