Matt Leinart lists Sam Ehlinger ahead of Spencer Rattler in Heisman rankings

Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger lands at No. 4 overall on Matt Leinart’s Heisman hopefuls list.

Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger was widely considered a Heisman contender leading up to the 2020 college football season.

It’s always seemingly been a long shot for him, as he’s up against Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence and Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields. However, Ehlinger had a record-setting season opener against UTEP that began to heat up his case.

Regardless, Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler has been commonly listed ahead of Ehlinger in most Heisman rankings up to this point. That’s until FOX Sports analyst Matt Leinart released his top Heisman hopefuls of the season.

Ehlinger appeared in Leinart’s top five selections at No. 4 overall. Lawrence, Fields and Miami quarterback D’Eriq King were the only other players listed ahead of Texas’ beloved signal caller.

With it being this early on in the season, Leinart’s primary reasoning for listing Ehlinger ahead of Rattler is simply due to UTEP being a better opponent than Missouri State.

He understands that Texas will have to rely on Ehlinger heavily this year if they hope to overpower Oklahoma for the Big 12 Championship. As a senior with several playmakers at his disposal, Leinart believes this is the year that Texas — and Ehlinger — can get it done.

Ehlinger completed 24 of 32 passes for 426 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions in one half against the Miners. He became the first quarterback in program history to throw for that many yards in a single half of football.

Rattler wasn’t far behind after his dismantling of Missouri State. He threw for 290 yards and four touchdowns in the first half. As of now, Ehlinger deserves to be listed ahead of the inexperienced redshirt sophomore.

Texas and Oklahoma are scheduled to face off in the Red River Rivalry on Oct. 10.