Quinn Ewers on watching Dan Marino, talking to Tua and trading stories about Sark

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Shortly after Miami made him a professional football player, Quinn Ewers told media members who cover the Dolphins that he's already familiar with their offense.

"We run some of the same concepts, and I know Sark went down and talked to Mike (McDaniel) in the offseason," Ewers said. "I'm beyond excited and grateful for the opportunity that the Dolphins have given me. I'm excited to meet all my new teammates, and things like this happen for a reason. I'm excited to be a Dolphin."

Seventh-round selections aren't typically expected to do much in their early days, but with the jumpstart Ewers has after his exposure to a similar style of offense, perhaps that creates more value for both him and the team. The coaches get a player who will need less time with the playbook and can shift that to more on-field tasks, while Ewers can advance his knowledge at a quicker pace.

Ewers said he's excited to talk shop with starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Both spent time with Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian, Ewers the past three seasons and Tagovailoa while Sarkisian was an assistant at Alabama.

"He knows the offense so well, and his ability to anticipate throws is fun to watch. He's throwing to guys before they even enter the window, and it'll be cool to talk to him about that," he said. "He knows Sark, and so do I, and it'll be cool to get to meet him and talk about our times with him."

The first connection to the Dolphins came at a young age for Ewers, and like most impressionable, aspiring football players, it was through an influential figure showing him how the pros did it. Ewers said his father showed him videos of Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino throwing with the lightning-quick release he was known for.

"My dad always told me that I needed to have a quick release like Dan Marino," Ewers said. "I grew up hearing my dad talk about him all the time, and I watched him play a lot."

Ewers said working with quarterback coach Jeff Christiansen, an 8-year NFL signal caller in the 1980s who has coached multiple college and pro quarterbacks through his company Throw It Deep, helped him use his natural throwing ability to get the ball out as fast as he does.

"It starts from my feet," he said. "I want to get my front foot down as fast as possible, which allows me to have that quick release in critical moments."

Ewers threw for 9,128 yards and 68 touchdowns as a Longhorn, both ranking third in program history. Analysts and pundits knock him for not being accurate when throwing the ball deep, or he's too slow reading defenses and going through progressions, but those who know him the most, Sarkisian in particular, think otherwise.

"He was a key guy in transforming a team coming off a 5-7 season into a championship-level program. He came in when we were building this thing, made an immediate impact, and his leadership was critical to the growth and success of our program over the last three years," Sarkisian said. "He’s a tremendous player, an even better person, and a great teammate. Miami got an outstanding quarterback who will be a great addition to their team."