CBS Sports has polled its staff, asking who they thought would be the most productive college quarterback in 2020. Not necessarily who would be the best or a Heisman favorite, but who would put up the most yards and touchdowns throughout the season.
Some elite-level quarterbacks were taken such as Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence and Ohio State’s Justin Fields were taken.
USC’s budding star Kevin Slovis was also taken off the board, reigning under Graham Harrell’s air raid attack.
Even Stanford transfer KJ Costello, who will be working with Mike Leach at Mississippi State, was predicted to put up big numbers against SEC West defenses.
When given his chance to select, Chipp Patterson chose Sam Ehlinger to be the most productive in the country next season. A bold prediction while working with brand new offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich and losing his top two wide receivers to the NFL Draft.
Here is Patterson’s explanation as to why he selected Ehlinger:
The question is for “most productive” not “best” or “most popular,” though I’d feel comfortable with my selection if we were only polling in the state of Texas. Ehlinger is the nation’s leader among returning players for total offense, ranking No. 4 in the country a year ago with 332.8 yards per game. Ehlinger might be dealing with a change at offensive coordinator, but when the stage is the biggest, Tom Herman reflects shades of that Urban Meyer coaching tree with the commitment to putting the game in the hands of the quarterback. The four-year starter is going to carry a heavy load in the Texas offense, and that’s going to help power another year of ranking in the top-five nationally in total offense.
Ehlinger comes into the 2020 season as the best returning quarterback in the Big 12. His 32 passing touchdowns were tied with Jalen Hurts of Oklahoma for the most in the conference last season, with Iowa State’s Brock Purdy’s 27 finishing second.
The difference between Ehlinger and Purdy, however, is the feet of the Texas quarterback. Ehlinger ranked inside the top 10 of the Big 12 in rushing yards, tallying 663 yards on 163 attempts. Add in seven touchdowns and Ehlinger was responsible for 40 touchdowns in 2019.
Bringing in Yurich from Ohio State is expected to improve offensive production all around. Playing against some other offensive juggernauts in LSU, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State this season, the Longhorns could find themselves in a few shootouts if Ehlinger produces the way he is predicted to.
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