COU
RTESY O
F TH
E EH
LIN
GER FAM
ILY (2)
for his brother, Jake (now a freshman
walk-on linebacker at Texas), and
sister, Morgen (a junior cheerleader at
Westlake). And he did his best to be
there for his mom, too, even though
she knew he needed to grieve as well.
But he was determined.
When Ehlinger arrived at Texas in
the spring of 2017 after graduating
high school a semester early, he
already exuded the kind of leadership
the program was craving. “The day
Sam came in, he took control,” senior
defensive end Malcolm Roach says.
“Even when he was doing the wrong
things, he always had confidence.
Anybody who’s working hard like
him is easy to respect.”
During his freshman season,
Ehlinger did plenty of “wrong things.”
While splitting time with Shane
Buechele—who would transfer to SMU
after the 2018 season—Ehlinger threw
game-clinching picks against
Oklahoma State and Texas Tech, and
he fumbled at the goal line in a 27–24
double-overtime loss to USC. He didn’t
have a grasp of the offense and wasn’t
used to the speed of the defenses
he was facing. But he was learning
and growing.
Ehlinger continued to work hard
through the offseason and was
named the starter for the 2018
season opener against Maryland;
he threw two fourth-quarter
interceptions in the 34–29 loss.
But the coaches made it clear
he was still the starter, which,
Ehlinger says,
“showed me they
were real and
that they really
knew what I was
capable of, and
that gave me
confidence.” He
led Texas to six
consecutive wins after that, and went
10 straight games without throwing
another interception.
As his national profile went up and
Texas kept winning, Ehlinger and his
coach grew closer. The two are both
intense, charismatic, and sarcastic—
qualities that can lead them to butt
heads. “Mutually respectful and
mutually frustrated” is how
Herman describes his relationship
with Ehlinger. “We respect the heck
out of each other,” Herman says. “I
want that guy by my side in times
of adversity.”
Herman told a story from a game
last season in which Texas had a big
lead. After a scoring drive, Ehlinger
hopped on the headset to make sure
the coaches weren’t going to start
taking it easy.
“He’s feeling himself, and he
goes, ‘Are we gonna keep the foot on
the gas or are we gonna get all
conservative again?’ ” Herman
recalled. “I said, ‘Hey, listen here.
You play. I’ll coach. All right?’ And
then we hug when it’s over.”
BUILDING BLOCKS
With Herman and Ehlinger working
in tandem, there’s no reason to
believe the Longhorns’ forward
progress won’t continue in 2019.
They have a fiery, passionate, and
vocal leader at quarterback who
knows how to deal with direct
criticism as well as effusive praise.
And he has plenty of offensive
weapons at his disposal, including
6' 6", 220-pound senior receiver
Collin Johnson and running back
Keaontay Ingram, who packed on
15 pounds of muscle and is poised
for a breakout sophomore year.
Questions abound for the D, which
lost eight senior starters, but talented
players from Herman’s consecutive
top-three recruiting classes will have
an opportunity to prove themselves.
Yes, there’s plenty of (mostly
positive) chatter around Texas
football these days, and it’s been a
while since that was the case. Does
that mean the Horns are, dare we
say, back? Maybe. But if anyone is
going to get them all the way there,
it’s Sam Ehlinger. n
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