Any chance Sam comes back for next year?

Didn't know where to put this, but here is Sam's passing chart for the season...

Ehlinger Comp Att Comp % Yards YPA TDs INTs
Deep 14 55 25.5 480 8.7 6 3
Intermediate 27 39 69.2 562 14.4 6 1
Short 59 81 72.8 601 7.4 8 1
Behind LOS 47 51 92.2 216 4.2 2 0

Thats comp. Atts. % total yds. Avg. TDs. Ints
 
Sam is a great Longhorn. Admittedly I know nothing, but having seen every snap he has taken I say he is a very good run first college QB. College arm strength, not accurate, particularly inaccurate downfield. He does not seem to have an NFL future but as I said I know nothing. He may be hurt but ~50% completion is now normal. His receivers and line don't help. I am good if he stays, but I hope Hudson or other has a higher ceiling.
 
dukesteer said:
Will Sam succeed in the NFL? I have one name for you:

Taysom Hill
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Taysom Hill had some injuries and basically started 2 years at BYU. Sam's passing stats are far more impressive but Hill is a different level as a fast, elusive athlete. He rushed for 1300 yards as a sophomore, Sam is 1800 for his 4 year starting career. Two very, very different athletes. Sam is tough and an all time great Longhorn. Taysom Hill is a freak athlete that has actually found a way to define a unique-to-himself position in the NFL. He is a WR/RB/QB/H-Back/Special teams unicorn. Nothing like him.
 
Couple things.....

Lets not get too carried away with criticism of Sam as he is our current QB, the season is still on, we have CCG aspirations that are valid, and he has been a tremendous representative, as well as an honorable and timely leader for our school and football program.

Having said this.... I'll add a few thoughts and try to keep them gracious and even handed...

Sam is a good college QB who has given our O a level of toughness and leadership at that position not seen since Colt. He plays better late in games and when the threat of losing is highest.
He may be injured, but to be honest, there hasn't been too many stretches since his arrival that he hasn't struggled with throws beyond short to intermediate. Yes, he hasn't always had the best oline to protect him, but the same is true for 85% of the NCAA. He makes plays out of nothing frequently enough to make up for some deficiencies, but deficiencies remain in his pocket presence and ability to accurately make throws... sometimes even shorter ones...when there is traffic around...which again is 85% of the time at this level. He has a knack for finding a quick hitter for low to medium yards when he steps around in pocket as it breaks down but far too often drifts backwards while reading instead of stepping right, left or up and throws off back foot or with poor foundation.
Another big bugaboo is he simply is a very slow starter in most games and this has never been more evident than this year.
And then there is the fact that he has never been accurate on deep throws...something this offense sorely needs in its arsenal.

I personally am so thankful Sam has been our QB the last 3 1/2 years(that right?) and he has stabilized a room we were lacking in for years. He has brought hope, intangibles, chance of winning, and pride back....and again toughness and leadership on and off the field.
Having said this, in my humble opinion, it would be best for us to move on. I believe Thompson is better than most think.. and he already portalled once and was talked out of it. Then you have Card waiting in the wings and who knows maybe even RJ deserves a shot.
All in all...Sam has done what he needed to do for this time. It is now evident we need to take a next step and see if this can help our offense achieve a new and higher level of consistency, effectiveness, and assertion.
 
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I see comments about Sam's accuracy and deep balls being off due to injury. Probably true because he gets his *** handed to him multiple times per game due to lousy OL play. Speaks to coaching and scheme yet again. TH needs to be gone ASAP. Meyer or the like will fix that.
 
horninchicago said:
I see comments about Sam's accuracy and deep balls being off due to injury. Probably true because he gets his *** handed to him multiple times per game due to lousy OL play. Speaks to coaching and scheme yet again. TH needs to be gone ASAP. Meyer or the like will fix that.
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I have never understood Hermans drive for a running QB. Yes it adds another dimension to the game but if thats your leading rusher which it was a UH and has been at UT as well, you are just asking to hurt the main cog of your team. Really a poor plan all the way around.
 
Anyone here who is critical of Sam Ehlinger in regards to him not being a Longhorn great QB ,has lost a ton of credibility with me.
I’ll take no offense if that doesn’t mean anything to you, no sarcasm ..I get it this is a forum for opinions.
If me having full support of Sam Ehlinger causes you to lose credibility of my knowledge of football, I am really really really good with that as well.
Unbelievable this questioning Sam as a bad *** is even a discussion.
 
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NRHorn said:
Anyone here who is critical of Sam Ehlinger in regards to him not being a Longhorn great QB ,has lost a ton of credibility with me.
I’ll take no offense if that doesn’t mean anything to you, no sarcasm ..I get it this is a forum for opinions.
If me having full support of Sam Ehlinger causes you to lose credibility of my knowledge of football, I am really really really good with that as well.
Unbelievable this questioning Sam as a bad *** is even a discussion.
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Not me. As I have stated, great heart, loyal Longhorn. Victim of bad coaching.
 
Mature, passionate, driven, good leadership.
Mobile in the pocket, can pick up yards with his legs.
Tough, physical runner. About 6'2"-6'3" and 230 lbs.
Inconsistent as a passer although tends to come through in the clutch.
Doubts about whether or not he has NFL arm strength and his accuracy on the deep ball.

Am I talking about Dak Prescott or Sam Ehlinger?
 
longhornlegend said:
I have never understood Hermans drive for a running QB. Yes it adds another dimension to the game but if thats your leading rusher which it was a UH and has been at UT as well, you are just asking to hurt the main cog of your team. Really a poor plan all the way around.
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I understand Herman's desire for a running QB. That kind of QB is a chain mover, first downs, stretches the defense, therefore, opens more opportunities for receivers and RBs. Tougher for the defense to cover everything.
I just wish Sam was a better passer.
 
NRHorn said:
Anyone here who is critical of Sam Ehlinger in regards to him not being a Longhorn great QB ,has lost a ton of credibility with me.
I’ll take no offense if that doesn’t mean anything to you, no sarcasm ..I get it this is a forum for opinions.
If me having full support of Sam Ehlinger causes you to lose credibility of my knowledge of football, I am really really really good with that as well.
Unbelievable this questioning Sam as a bad *** is even a discussion.
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Sam has become a longhorn legend in spite of not being a pure QB. He plays hard, with passion, and is loyal all away around.
So there are some, like myself, who desire a better passing QB but who can run well also. Who knows, one of the backups may be the one, the better passer. I believe that Herman has blinders and when he has made up his mind about something he just stays with it.
Case in point, Saban changing his QB, who was ineffective, in the championship game at the beginning of the second half, to a freshman no less, and they won. Would Herman do that? Absolutely no way. Herman doesn't give backups a chance to prove themselves, unless it's other positions and necessary. Sam will probably play at least 3 quarters against Kansas.
Personally I Will hate it if Sam comes back next year because the back ups won't play much, because Herman is enamored with Sam!
 
One post elsewhere I read today was "that's why it's good to have 2 really good lock-down corners." Yeah, I guess! Two really good lock-down corners is half-way to having the best NFL defense. You get that lucky hardly ever.

Or, you can say, "it's good to have a round one level edge rusher." Yeah, I suppose! Once every ten years.

So, to say that you're okay with a great leader QB like Sam who is tough, does all the right things, almost never makes a mistake, comes through an amazing number of times in the clutch, is a very good scrambler and runner, scores a darn lot of points, etc., but "it would be nice if he had great accuracy (even under pressure) on deep balls..."--so, what you are saying is, it would be nice if Sam were just Troy Aikman. Well, I guess so.

As I have posted before, we Longhorn fans unfortunately got to see Joe Burrows, Kyler Murray, Patrick Mahomes, and Sam Darnold hit just those kind of amazing passes against us, and so it seems like everyone should have a Heisman/future pro starter QB. Other than those guys, plus a couple of others like Tua or Trevor Lawrence, or a handful of the NFL greats, who are these people who are supposedly throwing deep contested balls right on the money while under pressure? Are any of you thinking that Thompson, or someone on our sideline, is about to be running for his life and be throwing deep perfect balls off-balance ala Patrick Mahomes?

So, if you are just dreaming, okay. "If only X player could do Y, he would have really been great." If you honestly think that someone on our sideline would come in next year and be better than Ehlinger, that's a very long shot at best.

"Larry Bird's not walking through that door, fans. Kevin McHale's not walking through that door and Robert Parish is not walking through that door."
 
Pomspoms said:
Sam has become a longhorn legend in spite of not being a pure QB. He plays hard, with passion, and is loyal all away around.
So there are some, like myself, who desire a better passing QB but who can run well also. Who knows, one of the backups may be the one, the better passer. I believe that Herman has blinders and when he has made up his mind about something he just stays with it.
Case in point, Saban changing his QB, who was ineffective, in the championship game at the beginning of the second half, to a freshman no less, and they won. Would Herman do that? Absolutely no way. Herman doesn't give backups a chance to prove themselves, unless it's other positions and necessary. Sam will probably play at least 3 quarters against Kansas.
Personally I Will hate it if Sam comes back next year because the back ups won't play much, because Herman is enamored with Sam!
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Blinders and binders. Odd combination.
 
I was first in the Sam camp and probably be the last to leave it. He is the toughest QB we ever had, no one is even close—and that could of hurt him physically trying to win games by bruising into first downs.
His passing stats are great as well. Just beaten up now.
 
Sam is the MAN period. My concern in my comments regarding his inaccuracies of late for the short out pass (which I hate btw) are questions about something being hurt? We have seen the off-on long ball his entire career but I do not remember as many of the short throws being off as I have noticed this year. Maybe I’m wrong but I don’t think so, seems to me I’ve seen a number of shorter throws being short or high.
 
Creek said:
He is the toughest QB we ever had, no one is even close
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Sam us definitely a gamer, but Marty Akins and Bobby Layne scream "HELLO"

Layne played in the NFL with no facemask and no hip pads. I believe his last game was the "Runner Up Bowl" against the Cowboys in 1964.
 
SabreHorn said:
Sam us definitely a gamer, but Marty Akins and Bobby Layne scream "HELLO"

Layne played in the NFL with no facemask and no hip pads. I believe his last game was the "Runner Up Bowl" against the Cowboys in 1964.
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I believe Sam could play back in the day. He's that kind of tough.
 
zuckercanyon said:
I believe Sam could play back in the day. He's that kind of tough.
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No disagreement here. Sam is definitely a throwback. DKR would have loved the kid.

Having seen them all (Layne in the NFL), I think Sam may be faster than James Street but not the arm, although we only saw James throw deep once. Layne & Street of the pitchers' mound is a different story.
 
Street's 40+ yard TD run earlier in that game was amazing, he juked multiple members of the DL in the pocket, then started to scramble and shed a couple of LBs off his back, and then outran the secondary to the corner. Agility, strength, and speed all on display.

My concern in my comments regarding his inaccuracies of late for the short out pass (which I hate btw) are questions about something being hurt? We have seen the off-on long ball his entire career but I do not remember as many of the short throws being off as I have noticed this year.
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I agree, I thought the middle was always more his strength, but an unusual amount of his quick outs are low and too far to the outside this season.
 
So if Sam does not come back, what are his likely draft chances?

3rd round or later? Undrafted FA? I suppose a lot will depend on both the rest of the season, and the workouts before the draft, to see how any injuries have healed, and his accuracy at that point.
 
Seems simple. Herman comes back, Sam leaves. Herman leaves and a proven winner comes to Texas, Sam stays if he is part of the proven winner's plan to win.
 
Sorry if I missed it, but have things changed? Sam has accepted an invitation to play in the Senior Bowl, which pays the players to pay. Used to be $2500 to members of winning team, and $1500 to the losers. It has always been my understanding that once a player accepts that invite, his amateur status is gone.
 
SabreHorn said:
Sorry if I missed it, but have things changed? Sam has accepted an invitation to play in the Senior Bowl, which pays the players to pay. Used to be $2500 to members of winning team, and $1500 to the losers. It has always been my understanding that once a player accepts that invite, his amateur status is gone.
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Okay then...I missed that.
 
Yeah me too. I thought those were given later in the season, as well as usually a senior can’t come back anyway, while this year they can, so some sort of allowance for that may be made.
 
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