Sporting News released their rankings for the top 40 college football players heading into the upcoming season.
While Texas is home to one particular player on the list, it’s a gaping miss to not include left tackle Sam Cosmi. He’s widely considered to be a top prospect in the 2021 NFL Draft, but was somehow absent from these rankings.
The Big 12 only had four players on this list, while the ACC accounted for 12 players. Running back Chuba Hubbard was mentioned as the top overall player in the conference at No. 7, but Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger was close behind at No. 12.
“Ehlinger is back for his senior season, and Texas has the same old expectations in the Big 12. Ehlinger has the stats. He’s piled up 68 passing TDs and 25 rushing TDs while improving his accuracy with each season. He’s a big-game-tested quarterback, and this is his chance to take the Longhorns to the top of the Big 12 once and for all.”
Quarterbacks Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields, and Sam Howell were the only players at his position that were listed higher. Ehlinger is widely projected to become a Heisman trophy contender in 2020, but he likely needs to lead Texas into the college football playoff in order for that to become a reality.
Ehlinger demonstrated his most efficient season yet as a junior, accounting for 4,326 yards of total offense last year which marks the second-most in school history.