Texas head coach Tom Herman discusses what Sam Ehlinger meant to him

With a Big 12 matchup against Iowa State looming, Head coach Tom Herman opened up about Sam Ehlinger. Specifically on what he means to UT.

On Monday afternoon Texas Longhorns head coach Tom Herman met with the media as he does each week. The team is heading into a huge matchup with the Iowa State Cyclones on Friday afternoon. That game will have a lot on the line as these two teams try to take a hold of their Big 12 Championship game hopes. Both need a win but there is a much larger emotional aspect to this game.

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The final home game of the 2020 season means that it is senior day at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. It isn’t just about one player on this day but the entire class that joined Texas from the 2017 recruiting cycle. However, quarterback Sam Ehlinger is the leader of that class and the entire football team. It will be the final time that fans will see 11 run out onto the field to take part in a game in his hometown of Austin, Texas.

Sam Ehlinger dreamed of this moment. As a kid, it was all about playing for the school he grew up watching. Stepping onto Campbell-Williams field and throwing the “Hook Em” up after every score. On Friday his four-year run will come to an end, at least when it comes to playing at DKR. It is almost a poetic end for Ehlinger, having spent many Friday nights in Austin playing the game he loved at Westlake High School.

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Herman was asked about Ehlinger’s legacy, but instead, he spoke to what Sam means to him and the University of Texas.

“I don’t have any opinion on [his] legacy,” Herman stated on Monday. “I know what he means to me as a human being, as a man, as a head coach, as a mentor. He means the world to me. He has been here as long as I have and we’ve been through a lot together. He’s going to go down statistically as one of the top two or three quarterbacks to ever put on the burnt orange.”

“But his scope of influence is much farther reaching than just his statistics and the wins over top five, top ten teams that he has had. His impact as a leader, not just in this program, but at this university, will be felt for years and years, long after he leaves the University of Texas and goes into the NFL.”

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