PETER G. AIKEN
/GETTY IM
AGES
at an early age. Ross and Jena
Ehlinger, both Texas alums, began
taking their three kids to UT football
games when they were babies. “I’d
like to say it’s not brainwashing since
they love it,” Jena says, laughing. “We
were the people that others would be
like, ‘Why are their children here?
What is wrong with you people? Do
they know what a babysitter is?’ ”
As Sam got older, his love for UT
continued to grow—especially after he
figured out, as a two- or three-year-
old, to cover his ears when Texas
scored to muffle the blast from
Smokey the Cannon. When the team
was on the road, his family had friends
over to the house for watch parties.
When the game was over and folks
broke up to grab food or chat, Sam was
committed to Texas (and coach
Charlie Strong) before his junior year.
Even though the Longhorns went
24–26 during the four years Ehlinger
was in high school, nothing—and no
one—could sway him from wanting
to play at Texas. “He never wavered,”
Jena says. “If anything, it made him
more determined and added fuel.”NATURAL LEADER
A little negative talk meant nothing to
a kid who had already faced
tremendous adversity. When Sam was
in eighth grade, his father, then 46,
died of an apparent heart attack while
competing in the swimming portion
of a triathlon. As the oldest child, Sam
felt pressure to grow up in a hurry. He
immediately tried to be a father figureglued to the TV, watching postgame
analysis or flipping channels, looking
for more coverage.
“He carved a football and a little
Bevo [mascot] into the paint of my
car with a rock when he was three,”
Jena says. “He was very proud. ‘Mom!
Come look what I did!’ ”
At Westlake High, Ehlinger broke
the career passing and touchdown
records set by current NFL
quarterbacks (and Super Bowl
champions) Drew Brees and Nick
Foles. He led the Chaparrals to the
6A Division I state title game in 2015
and established himself as one of the
top dual-threat prospects in the
country. His first college offer came
from Herman, who was then at
Houston. But Ehlinger quickly