Everyone agrees – Sam Ehlinger is Texas' QB future

[primal defense]

Everyone agrees – Sam Ehlinger is Texas' QB future




DALLAS – Seated next to freshman quarterback Sam Ehlinger on the podium following a 29-24 loss to Oklahoma, Texas head coach Tom Herman was asked what Ehlinger showed him on an afternoon in which he threw for 278 yards, rushed for 110 and almost single-handedly dragged the Longhorns back from a 20-0 first half hole.

“I’ve (already) seen everything I need to see from Sam Ehlinger,” Herman said.

A few feet to Herman’s left, Texas senior linebacker and captain Naashon Hughesemphatically shook his head in agreement. That’s the type of respect the true freshman has earned in only nine short months in Austin.

“He’s a tough dude,” Herman said. “He doesn’t get rattled. He’s competitive as all get out.”

RELATED: PFF College gives Ehlinger high marks under pressure

Those compliments from Herman signal yet another quarterback shift at Texas. Ehlinger wasn't the starter to begin the 2017 season, but there’s little doubt he’s the guy in Austin now. When Ehlinger exited the game with an injury in the second half, sophomore and Week 1 starter Shane Buechele – returning from an ankle injury – entered in relief and made a few plays. But Ehlinger met with the trainers in the tent, ran back into the huddle during a timeout and took over that same drive.

It’s a decision that tells you all you need to know about the Longhorns’ quarterback pecking order moving forward, even if Herman isn’t willing to announce the decision.

“I would think so (at this point),” Herman said of Ehlinger starting. “But I don’t know. Sam’s got to practice really good, and we’ve got to see when that occurs that Shane is 100 percent.”

Those are just words.

Instead, look at Ehlinger’s play on the field for evidence of his Longhorn future.

 

(Photo: © Tim Heitman, USA TODAY Sports)

Ehlinger’s first start was a 56-0 win over San Jose State. His second, on the road against No. 4 USC, resulted in the Longhorns pushing the Trojans into double-overtime. Ehlinger threw two touchdowns that day – one to give Texas a lead with 45 seconds remaining in regulation and the other in the first overtime period.

“He’s a great QB,” said USC senior LB Uchenna Nwosu. “The calm that he had, able to play under pressure and get his team going, it’s like what you see in Sam (Darnold).”

Three weeks later, with Buechele again injured, Ehlinger led the Longhrons to a 40-34 double-overtime win against previously ranked Kansas State. In the victory, Ehlinger passed for 380 yards and ran for 107, becoming only the third Longhorn QB ever to pass for 300 and run for 100 in a single game. Not even Vince Young ever did that.

Against Oklahoma, Ehlinger directed Texas from down 20-0 in the first half to a 24-23 fourth quarter lead. The Longhorns couldn’t finish, but it was hardly the true freshman’s fault. Texas’ only consistent offense on the afternoon came when Ehlinger made off-schedule plays with his feet.

Baker Mayfield, a fellow Austin native, said of Ehlinger postgame: “Tough kid. He bounces back after getting hit. He’s going to have a heck of a career.”

Oklahoma defensive coordinator Mike Stoops had even more gaudy praise of Ehlinger.

“I loved the kid,” Stoops said. “We look forward to facing him the next three years. He has it all. He’s a guy who you can build a team around.”

Testimonials abound about Ehlinger’s future.

It’s easy to see why. It’s also kind of crazy considering some of Ehlinger’s faults. Thus far, he’s an inaccurate QB completing just 54.5 percent of his passes. He takes far too many hits when he scrambles – Ehlinger missed almost his entire senior year of high school due to injuries – and his decision-making often leaves something to be desired. But those faults you expect a true freshman to have, especially one working behind a patchwork offensive line that features only two Week 1 starters.

While he probably runs too much, Ehlinger seems to always find a way to avoid pass rushers and make a play. It’s the innate ability that makes Mayfield a Heisman frontrunner, and the Austin-area gunslingers share that trait.

“Just how Austin boys do it, I guess,” Mayfield said.

Quarterback, despite all that goes into training and developing them, often boils down to that elusive “it” factor. Ehlinger, for whatever reason, seems to have it in spades.

That’s why he’s the Longhorns’ quarterback of the present and future.


Author


Chris Hummer  @chris_hummer

https://247sports.com/Article/Everyone-from-teammates-to-opponents-agree-Sam-Ehlinger-is-Texas-109015524

 

[primal defense]

'This is a journey': After 3-3 start, Tom Herman reflects on first six games as Texas head coach




AUSTIN -- Halfway into his first season as Texas head coach, Tom Herman sees effort and accountability and togetherness from his team. 

He also sees a .500 team that is 3-3, albeit with near misses against Southern California and Oklahoma, the latter a 29-24 loss this past weekend that Herman called "gut-wrenching." So the question of exactly where Texas stands in Herman's first season isn't easy to answer, with a whole lot depending on the time horizon. 

"This is a process. This is a journey," Herman said. "We're building a program -- not a season and not a team and not a game. We need to be mindful of where we're headed and the journey that we're on but also be urgent with how we get there so that we can win and win now." 

It's a blurry line. 

The eye test says Texas has improved. Freshman Sam Ehlinger looks like the quarterback for this year and the future although he's still listed as "or" on this week's depth chart with Shane Buechele. The defense is allowing 6.8 fewer points and 66.7 fewer yards, at least before Oklahoma State and its No. 1-ranked offense visit. Herman and the players have talked about the team growing closer  despite the losses. Texas led OU and USC in the fourth quarter and could be 5-1 had things gone differently. 

"This is, in my opinion, the most athletic team, from top to bottom, in this league," Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said Monday. 

The record shows Texas is in the exact same position as it was after six games last season, the one that got Charlie Strong shown the door. The offensive line has lost  starting tackles Connor Williams (a returning All-American) and Elijah Rodriguez. Two more starters have missed time. Texas running backs produced 24 yards in 14 carries against Oklahoma. For all the improvement, big plays have beset the defense, with OU having four pass plays of 40-plus yards. 

The opening loss against Maryland was a major disappointment, one that Herman said "surprised everybody. There was a lot of introspection after that game. You know, where did I go wrong? Where did we go wrong as a staff?" 

Herman said he told his staff before fall camp that Texas could be in every game if it played physically and with intensity. He's happy with the response, although he says he wants the team playing smarter. 

"And we're here for a reason," Herman said, "and that's to rebuild this thing from a bunch of years of mediocrity and sub-mediocrity, and we understand that that's going to take time." 

Then he repeated the need to win now and made it clear he wasn't happy with the win-loss record. 
Credit Herman with breaking new ground. While he isn't the first coach to talk about a rebuild, he might be the first to refer to "sub-mediocrity." 

But Herman refused to set a hard-and-fast standard. 

"We've never said we want to make a bowl game or we want to beat Oklahoma or we want to beat USC," Herman said. "We said we want to be in the conversation for the Big 12 title in the month of November and December. 

"Every year, if we are in that position, then we'll have considered that season a success dependent on the different variables that happen in each season."

https://sportsday.dallasnews.com/college-sports/collegesports/2017/10/16/journey-3-3-start-tom-herman-reflects-first-six-games-texas-head-coach