The Weekender Quinn Ewers makes his Texas Longhorns debut Lincoln

The Weekender: Quinn Ewers makes his Texas Longhorns debut, Lincoln Riley releases an open letter to Oklahoma and John Daly’s son is a NIL superstar

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Own the group chat with The Weekender, which highlights the biggest stories in collegiate sports, standout lyrics from Eleven Warriors, and a look at what’s next.

Quinn Ewers is back on the field in Burnt Orange

The once-future phenomenon in the state of Ohio has his hair raging harder than ever.

Ewers made his debut for Texas in the Longhorns’ spring game last night, though head coach Steve Sarkisian neutered the lead on points or statistics between staff groups over line depth concerns.

The former Buckeye completed just one of his first five tries but eventually uncorked a 60+ yard touchdown that quickly sent shockwaves through the Lone Star State.

Ewers’ debut wasn’t flawless, however, as he ended up throwing a somewhat sloppy interception down the middle.

Only time will tell how comfortably the mullet will settle into the home.

Lincoln Riley’s relationship with Oklahoma fans just took a poetically bizarre turn

Oklahoma fans don’t like Lincoln Riley. That’s understandable, considering the former Sooners coach abruptly left the program for USC shortly after the end of the Big 12’s regular season — and to call it abrupt might be an understatement.

Riley’s flight to Los Angeles has sparked an offseason-long storm of anger in the Oklahoma fan base. Sooner believers even popped up in Dan Hope’s quote tweets this week to poke fun at what they say is the City of Angels’ utter disinterest in the impending return of the Trojans into the national conversation.

The next day, Riley published an open letter to Oklahoma Football via The Players’ Tribune.

It is difficult to describe the purpose of this letter. It’s not an apology to the Sooners – rather an explanation of the steps and thought processes that led to Riley’s tumultuous decision to leave Norman. Essentially, the former Oklahoma head coach was smitten by the stars after receiving a call from some agents in sunny California.

As much as my family and I loved Norman and appreciated the success we had on the field, sometimes life throws curve balls at you at the most unexpected of times. To be honest, I always thought I would end my coaching career at OU. But when my agent called to tell me of USC’s interest, I was immediately intrigued by the possibilities. — Lincoln Riley on The Players’ Tribune

Unfortunately for the Sooners, sometimes life throws curveballs that pay off $17+ million oceanfront real estate.

John Daly II is now a NIL ambassador for an ‘iconic brand’

“I have seen my father’s great relationship with Hooters over the years and am proud to continue my family’s association with this iconic brand.” — John Daly II

On some weekends, the stories write themselves.

ICYMI

CJ Stroud starts as a preseason Heisman Trophy favorite

What surprised some was CJ Stroud, who was the betting favorite to win next season’s college football Heisman Trophy ahead of reigning winner Bryce Young. Stroud opened at +200 odds compared to Young’s +400.

Ryan Day thinks Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau ‘can be a force in the fall’

Although Zach Harrison and Javontae Jean-Baptiste have started the spring game, the optimism surrounding the standouts behind them is stronger than ever. Griffin Strom summarizes Ryan Day’s thoughts on Sawyer and Tuimoloau’s first appearances after the Spring Game.

Spring Game Snap counts

Just about every available healthy Buckeye played in offensive-versus-defense scrimmage at Ohio Stadium last weekend – 84 in total. For those curious about the array of different names and positional groups, here’s a nice recap from Dan Hope.

What’s next

  • Men’s Lacrosse: vs. Michigan, today at 7 p.m. ET
  • Women’s tennis: Big Ten Tournament, Wednesday @ Iowa City, IA
  • Men’s tennis: Big Ten Tournament, Friday @ Madison, WI
  • Men’s Golf: Big Ten Championship, Friday @ French Lick, IN