Golden: Vince Young's 2005 Ohio State win serves as a teaching tool for Texas' Quinn Ewers

Quinn Ewers isn’t the most talkative interview subject, but he’s speaking up when it matters most.

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian revealed Thursday that his laid-back quarterback texted him requesting a Tuesday morning players-only meeting two days after the massive win at Alabama.

Golden: If Sarkisian thought expectations were high before Alabama, take another look

It may not seem like much on the surface, but it’s a huge deal when the quarterback shows that kind of leadership. Few teams win big with a quarterback playing the background, and to his credit, Ewers is embracing his locker room role while sending a message to his teammates that he’s all-in on this thing. He also understands that a college football season is a marathon, not a sprint.

Ewers is emerging as a leader. Always one to think before he speaks, he entered the week knowing that for Texas to continue this surge, Alabama would have to be placed in the rearview mirror. He and his head coach both know that Texas must play the long game if it expects to live up to that sparkly No. 4 ranking and it starts on Saturday against a Wyoming team that already has knocked off Big 12 preseason dark horse Texas Tech after falling behind 17-0 in the opener.

Usually a 2-0 start to the season causes barely a ripple in a fan base that has experienced a national championship, but a 2-0 start that includes a win over Alabama changes the dynamic altogether.

The Horns haven’t experienced this kind of euphoria since the 2019 Sugar Bowl when young quarterback Sam Ehlinger declared “We’re baaaaaack” after an emotional win over Georgia. Texas is also the last team that beat the Bulldogs in a bowl game.

That was some weekend in New Orleans, but the magical Saturday night in Tuscaloosa is so much bigger because it seemed to answer the question about Texas possibly being overhyped in the preseason. That could still be the case — it’s early, friends — but the Horns just showed a nation that when they’re on their game, they can beat anybody.

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And now their quarterback and the leadership council are making sure every player isn’t getting too far ahead of themselves in this quest to return to national postseason prominence.

'It was a great sign for us'

Sarkisian and his staff made sure to remind the players Monday that while beating Alabama was great, Wyoming is a different opponent that’s probably not interested in much of what went down at Bryant-Denny aside from film study. To hear that the players have already taken this big-picture concept unto themselves … what a huge step after a program-altering moment.

“It was a great sign for us,” Sarkisian said of the meeting request.

Then later: “They wanted to reiterate what we need to do.”

More: Two games in, Texas is showing off its pass rushing prowess

Ewers is obviously a good listener as evidenced by his quiet maturation over the past year. He’s also benefiting from the mentorship of former Texas star Vince Young, who was in Ewers' ear on the sideline Saturday night.

“It’s a cool relationship,” Ewers said Monday. “He always just tells me to do your best and have fun."

Remembering a big 2005 win

VY was always his loosest in the biggest moments, and watching Ewers answer Alabama’s touchdown to take the lead in the fourth quarter with one of his own brought a smile to Young’s face because it reminded him of Texas' second game of the 2005 season, one that catapulted a team that was already a national title contender even further.

Three weeks before they ended a five-year losing streak to the hated Oklahoma Sooners, the Horns faced a monumental road challenge at Ohio State, a Big Ten blue blood that had championship aspirations of its own.

More: Millions of football fans tuned into ESPN to see Texas beat Alabama in a marquee matchup

I remember our media contingent deciding we would arrive at Ohio Stadium early to avoid the heavy traffic closer to kickoff and then feeling as if the entire city of Columbus beat us there. Later that night, Young’s late touchdown pass to Limas Sweed beat the Buckeyes and sent an unfamiliar silence through the normally raucous Horseshoe.

On that night, Texas sent a major message that a power shift could be coming in college football, and the Horns were as good as that hype, halting USC's three-peat bid in the BCS title game.

With this current group, we found out that the quarterback can indeed rise to big occasions and that the defense has the potential to be as good as any in the country.

Ever the observer, Young gave his take on this team as well.

“One thing they did today is showed who they are, their identity,” Young said after the game. “Once you find it in the beginning of the year, now you know who you are. That happened to us in ’05 when we played Ohio State. We knew exactly who we were and now we’ve just got to ride that.”

It’s pretty cool to see the greatest quarterback in program history installing little jewels of wisdom to the current signal caller.

One difference between the two programs was the 2005 Horns entered that championship season having already won the Rose Bowl over Michigan. They were No. 2 in the preseason AP poll and returned a Heisman contender in Young and a bevy of stars, including arguably the best offensive line in program history. Young famously organized early-morning preseason workouts, and from the sound of things, they weren't voluntary. It's what makes the best leaders. They challenge and push their teammates to greater heights.

As for Ewers & Co., Texas came in with Big 12 title aspirations but weren’t being mentioned with Bama, Georgia, Ohio State and Michigan as possible title contenders. That said, they have put a dominant performance out there for all to see and now we’ll find out if they can corral that elusive consistency bug that has plagued the program for well over a decade.

What we’re witnessing here is possibly a national contender in full bloom. Questions about Sarkisian’s ability to win consistently will go away if the Horns take this momentum and run with it. Ewers’ ability to step up in a big game? It’s on tape now. He’s shown he can do it and now his voice is as loud as it’s ever been in that locker room.

“Coach Sark is leading them the right way,” former Texas and NFL linebacker Derrick Johnson told us on this week’s "On Second Thought" podcast. “Hearing him be able to have that special connection with the guys … and they want to play for him. He’s been building this culture for the last three years and it is showing up.”

The two most important people on a football team are the head coach and the quarterback, and both were at the the very top of their games in a hostile environment Saturday. If the Horns are really bound for their first CFP appearance, they will have to be even better.

That comes with the ranking and the expectations.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Quinn Ewers, Texas Longhorns football's leaders are emerging after win