When it comes to any football team there isn’t any more important position than the quarterback. For the Texas Longhorns in 2020, their success begins and ends with the quarterback and Sam Ehlinger. Brad Crawford of 247 has ranked the top 10 quarterbacks to take the field in 2020. There are two quarterbacks on the list with Texas ties.
Coming in at number 10 is former teammate of Ehlinger, Shane Buechele of Southern Methodist University.
Why he’s in the Top 10: Forward-thinking a bit here, but Buechele’s senior-season numbers at SMU could dwarf 2019’s stats — and those were awfully impressive (3,929 yards passing, 34 TDs). The language won’t change and Buechele will have full grasp of Sonny Dykes’ power spread as a Year 2 starter, even with the arrival of new OC Garrett Riley. The former Texas transfer gets all of his offensive linemen back and the arrival of two weapons at wideout will soften the blow of James Proche’s exit. SMU floundered late this fall, but the Mustangs could very much be a Top 25 mainstay once again in 2020 under Buechele’s guidance.
The highest rated quarterback on the list from the Big 12 and the state of Texas is Sam Ehlinger.
Why he’s in the Top 10: We’re watching one of the top quarterbacks in program history star for the Longhorns, but he still feels underappreciated nationally. He’ll back back for his final season in 2020 with one last opportunity to get Texas back to the forefront as a national title contender. Ehlinger’s best has come in spotlight opportunities against nationally-ranked competition, the mark of a true competitor. The guy has accounted for 80 touchdowns over his last 27 games, the second-most in college football during that stretch (Joe Burrow, 88).
Not only has Ehlinger been a huge factor in bowl game upsets against Georgia and Utah but he is setting himself up to become one of the two best quarterbacks in Texas history, statistically. The Austin Westlake product is already second in passing yards but how close can he get to Colt McCoy’s record?
Ehlinger is already top-ten in rushing for the Longhorns, with another big season running the ball could pass Marty Atkins for second all-time in rushing yards for a Texas quarterback only trailing Vince Young. Young’s record is virtually untouchable at this point for Ehlinger but being second to Young isn’t anything to feel bad about.