Jerry Jones Compared Texas QB Quinn Ewers to Tom Brady Before NFL Draft

"During his meeting with (Jerry) Jones, the Cowboys owner compared Ewers' situation to Tom Brady's at Michigan, when he had to deal with the hype surrounding wunderkind Drew Henson, with whom Brady had to split playing time as a senior," Archer wrote after the NFL Draft. "Brady was a sixth-round pick of the New England Patriots in 2000 and went on to win seven Super Bowls. Nobody is making that promise for Ewers, who next week heads to Miami Gardens for the Dolphins' rookie minicamp."

In terms of Brady comparisons, this is certainly an apt one.

Arch Manning waiting in the wings and being championed as the savior of Texas football - despite Ewers' immense accomplishments and statistical milestones - led many to bang their hands on the table for a change at various points in the season.

In a similar fashion, Henson came to Michigan in 1998 as a wildly heralded recruit, leading to an immense amount of pressure being placed on the incumbent Brady. Brady was the starter, but the two would split time with Henson from the opener of the 1999 season, leading to a season-long controversy.

That said, there was one major difference between the two situations. Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian never really wavered and believed in Ewers' ability to get the Longhorns where they wanted to go, and was emphatic about his position as the clear starter. Manning played, but sparingly in specific situations to utilize his legs.

Meanwhile, after an offseason-long controversy, Michigan coach Lloyd Carr began the 1999 season by inserting Henson in for entire quarters at a time.

Of course, Brady would eventually head to the NFL Draft after the 1999 season, with many detractors doubting his abilities, resulting in his slide to Round 6. Brady took that as motivation and worked his way into becoming the greatest and most decorated quarterback in the history of the NFL.

Ewers now has that same motivation, and as he told Archer, plans to use it moving forward in his career.

"It's definitely a lot of motivation that comes with it, especially just being the last [quarterback] drafted," Ewers said. "I still have high expectations for myself, but just from the outside looking in, this is the first time in my life to not have that much expectation. There's definitely motivation and fuel. A lot of it."

Whether or not he can turn that into Brady-level success, while unlikely, remains to be seen.