When Steve Sarkisian arrived at Texas ahead of the 2021 season, the football coach did so with an "All gas, no brakes" mentality.

While examining his future this offseason, Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers did the opposite.

Ewers met with local reporters Wednesday after Texas wrapped up its fifth practice of the spring. It was his first press availability since he talked immediately after Texas was beaten by Washington in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1. That made Wednesday's media scrum his first chance to publicly discuss his decision to return to Texas instead of entering the NFL draft.

So why did Ewers choose a fourth season of college football instead of the draft?

Why rush things, he answered.

"I guess the main thing for me was just getting more experience," Ewers said. "I had some people put together a pretty good chart on the more you play and the more experience you have, the better you end up playing and succeeding in the NFL. I just wanted to put myself in a better spot to be able to succeed at a high level once I hopefully get there."

He continued: "I feel like I've been rushing my entire life, so just take a year, slow it down and not rush things. I skipped my senior year (of high school), that went by fast. I was at Ohio State for a semester, so it all went by fast also. So just take my time throughout the whole process and enjoy being here and just being present and not looking too far forward."

The choice was easy: the dream can wait

As he figured out his football future, Ewers relied on an inner-circle that included his parents. He said he was leaning toward a return to Texas for much of the process, but he didn't make up his mind until about a week after the Sugar Bowl. He announced his decision on Jan. 11.

Ewers would have been considered a top-10 quarterback in his draft class. He'll now compete for positioning with Colorado's Shedeur Sanders, Georgia's Carson Beck and Alabama's Jalen Milroe for the 2025 draft.

"Since I was a kid, I always wanted to play in the NFL and succeed at a high level in the NFL," Ewers said. "To get to that point, I think it was just better for me to just stay another year and just enjoy it."

Ewers is coming off a season in which he completed just over 69% of his passes and threw for 3,479 yards and 22 touchdowns against only six interceptions. He accounted for five of Texas' 29 touchdown runs.

Ewers missed two games with a shoulder injury. He also was injured for part of UT's 2022 season. Ewers said he played much of last year at 200 pounds and is trying to get himself up to 210 pounds this year. The quarterback joked, though, that he's only looking to add good weight.

"It can't be that mullet weight I had," he said.

Getting better is at the top of Quinn Ewers' list

As he looks ahead to the fall and his third season as UT's starter, Ewers is focused on improving his defensive recognition and working on a rapport with Texas' new receivers. Texas is replacing 80% of its receptions, 84.5% of its receiving yards and 88% of its touchdown catches from 2023. The Longhorns will do it by breaking in a new-look receiving room that features transfers, freshmen and young returners.

Due to that turnover, Sarkisian noted Monday that the challenge for Ewers and backup quarterback Arch Manning will be commanding the offense. "It's not just what they know," Sarkisian said. "It's not just their ability to function. It's making sure the guys around them are in the right frame of mind and have the right knowledge to perform with them because you can't rely on the experience of some of the guys that we had a year ago."

Ewers said he's ready: "I definitely have to step up in that role and I'm super comfortable with it," he said a couple of days later. "Everybody expects it from me, I expect it from myself. I wouldn't rather be in any other position than what I'm in right now."

For his career, Ewers has thrown for 5,656 yards and 37 touchdowns. He ranks eighth all-time in the UT record books in passing yards and is seventh in touchdown passes.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Quarterback Quinn Ewers discusses return to Texas, bypassing NFL draft