5-Star QB Quinn Ewers 'Leaning Toward' Skipping Senior Year of HS, Enrolling at OSU

Ohio State commit Quinn Ewers may enroll at the university a year early, thus forgoing his final year at Southlake Carroll, to take advantage of the NCAA's new guidelines on name, image and likeness.

Yahoo Sports' Pete Thamel reported Ewers is already receiving endorsement offers that he's prohibited from accepting under Texas high school athletic rules. Because of that, the 5-star quarterback recruit is weighing his future.

"I don’t really know, I don’t have a final decision made quite yet," Ewers said. "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."

The Southlake, Texas, native is the No. 1 overall player in 247Sports' composite rankings for 2022. Thamel explained how he could potentially graduate from high school and become eligible to suit up for the Buckeyes in time to play in the 2021 season.

Getting Ewers one year earlier than expected would be a welcome surprise for OSU, which doesn't have a nailed-on starting quarterback following the departure of Justin Fields. Kyle McCord, C.J. Stroud and Jack Miller were all highly ranked recruits, but none has any meaningful experience at the college level.

Ewers might quickly vault ahead of the pack despite having not had a lot of time to learn the offense and build a rapport with his receivers.

The implications of his decision could also extend far beyond Columbus, Ohio.

Early enrollment is fairly common in college football, with Thamel noting Ewers was already looking toward a move to Ohio State in January. Him expediting the process could set a precedent for other blue-chip prep stars.

Defensive lineman and USC signee Korey Foreman sat atop 247Sports' composite rankings for 2021. Foreman hasn't played a snap for the Trojans yet, but Brett Greenberg of the Tuscaloosa News reported he already signed a deal with Rosenhaus Sports for NIL purposes.

Just as a higher frequency of college stars are sitting out bowl games with an eye toward the NFL draft, high school athletes could decide playing out a senior year simply isn't worth it if a nice windfall is within reach.