Quinn Ewers transfer portal: Top 3 best-suited teams for Texas QB if he returns in 2025 ft. Notre Dame

As time passes, it seems more and more like Quinn Ewers won't have a place on the 2025 Texas Longhorns. The clamoring from the Texas fanbase to see Arch Manning take the starting role is too great for Manning to be forced to wait another year on the bench. While the most likely outcome is that Ewers will declare for the NFL draft, he does have one final year of eligibility left at the collegiate level.

Given that Ewers hasn't been at his best in 2024, many wonder if he would prefer to return for a final college year, looking to become a bonafide first-rounder in the 2026 NFL draft. According to reports by On3, he allegedly received a $6 million NIL offer to enter the transfer portal from an unnamed school.

Here's a look at three potential destinations if Ewers were to return in 2025.

Top 3 best-suited teams for Quinn Ewers if he returns in 2025

#3, USC Trojans

There isn't any hard evidence behind this possibility, but it would seem a match made in heaven. Quinn Ewers has never been able to live up to the potential of a five-star recruit who was considered the best prospect in his class. Who better to get the best out of him than Lincoln Riley?

Riley has a strong track record of developing quarterbacks, with the likes of Baker Mayfield, Jalen Hurts, Kyler Murray and Caleb Williams having had their breakthrough moments under him either at Oklahoma or USC. With Miller Moss benched and Jayden Maiava looking less than great at the Las Vegas Bowl, why not bring an experienced hand to Los Angeles?

#2, Notre Dame Fighting Irish

The Fighting Irish will be looking for a new quarterback in 2025 as Duke transfer Riley Leonard is in his final year of eligibility. The Irish have been looking for stopgap measures in the last two seasons, bringing in final-year transfers in the hope they can give them the edge to win the national title.

While the strategy didn't work with Sam Hartman, the jury is still out with Riley Leonard, who at least took them to the CFP, although few analysts will expect them to advance beyond their quarterfinal encounter against Georgia.

While Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman has said the Fighting Irish don't plan on looking for a stopgap quarterback for a third year, a daunting schedule that has games against Miami, Texas A&M and Arkansas in the first four weeks, could call for a reliable pair of hands at quarterback to start the year. Who better available than Quinn Ewers?

#1, Ohio State Buckeyes

The return of the prodigal son. This one is the easiest to figure out, and probably the most likely. It was Ohio State that initially recruited Quinn Ewers back in 2021, where he started his college career before changing Columbus for Austin.

The Buckeyes will be without a quarterback in 2025, as Will Howard came from Kansas State with only one year left of eligibility. While Ryan Day has proven that his program remains competitive, Ewers would be a significant improvement over Howard. The former five-star recruit could prove the missing piece in Day's plan to reclaim the Big Ten title and defeat archrival Michigan.