Ja'Tavion Sanders dishes on how cutting his mullet helped Quinn Ewers' development

The hair was holding Quinn Ewers back. At least, that’s what Ja’Tavion Sanders believes. On Saturday, the junior tight end revealed how he’s seen Texas‘ QB1 transform this offseason.

“His whole demeanor changed after he cut that mullet,” Sanders said. “I don’t know what it was about that mullet. Whatever he did after cutting that mullet, it’s like a whole new person. He went from a kid to an adult, and it shows.

“The way he carries himself, he’s even starting to be more of a leader now on this team; maybe even one of the biggest leaders on this team really. The way he’s playing the game now, how he’s moving with the football, without the football — overall, he’s just a better man.”

Sanders’ statement is a scary proposition for Texas’ opponents in 2023. Ewers was fantastic during parts of his freshman season, even with the mullet weighing him down. The 6-foot-2 quarterback completed 172-of-296 passes (58.1%) for 2,177 yards, 15 touchdowns and six interceptions.

More impressive, Ewers only started in 10 contests after suffering an injury in Texas’ season opener against Alabama. With Ewers leading the charge, Texas went 8-5 last season and ended the 2022 campaign on a painful 27-20 loss to Washington.

Yet, perhaps that pain was worth it. After all, Sanders claims it led to a new level of dedication in Ewers.

“As soon as we got back to winter workouts after that bowl game,” Sanders said. “… Before weight room, I saw him getting extra work with [quarterbacks coach A.J.] Milwee. … He’s definitely been doing that since winter workouts, and it’s starting to show. He’s gonna do what he’s gonna do on that field, for sure.”

Ewers’ hair isn’t the only thing that’s changed. Entering his second season at UT, Ewers transformed his physique. The Texas native discussed the improvement after weight room photos went viral this summer.

“We kind of got addicted to doing abs and hitting biceps and triceps and all that stuff. It was just fun. The more we did it, we saw more position groups stay in the locker room after, and it was cool to see that,” Ewers told ESPN’s Pete Thamel on the Longhorn Network.

Sanders isn’t the only one happy to see Ewers’ development.

“I didn’t mind the mullet. But I also know what perception is,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said. “And like we talked about with him, right now, the perception of you is proceeding you before you meet anybody. So, sometimes, you need to change the perception so that people really get to know you.

“I think that Quinn has worked at that over the last 7-8 months. I think he’s starting to see the value in who he is. Quinn’s a great guy, super coachable, a really good teammate, very humble, hard-working, (and) he cares for the people around him. I don’t know if everybody knew that about him a year ago. But now, I think people are starting to understand that about him.”