Quinn Ewers explains the Texas QBs' viral gym photo and their body transformation

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian has a hypothesis on why he wasn’t invited to the quarterback photo with Quinn Ewers, Maalik Murphy, Charles Wright, Joe Tatum and Arch Manning that went viral last week.

“I might’ve embarrassed them,” Sarkisian said with a smile.

Even without him, the photo drew reactions from across social media. Manning in particular drew attention for his six-pack that his legendary uncles don't seem to share.

The inspiration behind the photo wasn't about garnering attention from the online community, though a shirtless Sarkisian surely would've broken Twitter for good. Ewers said that the group had planned to take a picture on that specific date for a while.

"We planned on taking a picture on June 30th months ago," Ewers said. "That was our motivation. We all wanted to change our bodies, we all wanted to be more fit and look better."

The wide receiver group wasn't incredibly impressed. Jordan Whittington remains confident in his ability to out-bench Ewers. Xavier Worthy had a laugh when he first saw the picture. "Who did y'all think y'all was?" Worthy said jokingly. "Y'all think y'all some body builders or something?

To be fair, Murphy looks like he absolutely could be a body builder. Nevertheless, seeing the quarterbacks put in the work, seemed to put some motivation into the rest of the team.

"It was just fun. And the more we did it, we saw more position groups stay in the locker room after, which it's cool to see that," Ewers said.

Ewers' body isn't the only place he's grown, however. Amid lofty expectations, his teammates have said that the QB has earned their respect as Ewers has become a more vocal leader after a difficult 2022 season.

More: Golden: It's up to Quinn Ewers to embrace the high expectations in Texas' Big 12 swan song

With a change in his diet, a ripped body and an overall better understanding of the offense, he'll be looking to take a leap as Texas vies for a Big 12 title. He'll have his gym buddies' support as well.

"I'm so happy to be a part of that quarterback room," Ewers said.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Quinn Ewers explains the story behind Texas QBs' viral gym photo