Texas Football: Will Shane Buechele end up with more starts than Sam Ehlinger?
This is a two man competition for the starting quarterback gig for Texas football with the upper hand possibly going the way of Shane Buechele in the end.
Two seasons ago, Texas football elected to go with a two-quarterback system between then freshman quarterback Shane Buechele and the athletic and strong Tyrone Swoopes. Charlie Strong used Buechele as the generic passing quarterback while Swoopes came in for what became known as the “18-wheeler” package.
However, Buechele is now a rising junior and competing for the starting job still with rising sophomore Sam Ehlinger. It’ll be tough for Buechele to win the job outright due to the strong finish to the 2017 campaign that Ehlinger had to cap off his freshman year.
This quarterback battle under Texas head football coach Tom Herman and offensive coordinator Tim Beck gained attention from a ton of eyeballs around the country. The Longhorns have more stakes on this quarterback competition than most other programs with a position battle of this nature.
It’s unlikely that Herman chooses a two quarterback system this season, but Buechele and Ehlinger are both likely to get multiple starts. At this point, it’s too early to tell who has the upper hand. You’d figure that Ehlinger would get the nod from the promise he showed throughout his freshman season.
Buechele missed some time last season due to injury. So, he might’ve wound up with more starts in the end if not for that issue. In games where Buechele took the bulk of the snaps last year, he finished up with a 3-2 record. One of those three wins was a huge road victory over the Iowa State Cyclones.
Claiming a win at Jack Trice Stadium against head football coach Matt Campbell’s squad last year was no easy task. Not to say that beating the Clones at home was any easier. Just ask the two teams that decided the 2017 Big 12 Championship in the TCU Horned Frogs and Oklahoma Sooners.
The other two wins for Buechele came against easier opponents in the Baylor Bears and Kansas Jayhawks. Possibly the worst performance for Buechele last season came in the opening week home loss to the Maryland Terrapins.
On the other hand, Ehlinger and Buechele both split snaps in the Texas Bowl victory over the Mizzou Tigers. Ehlinger played better than Buechele did in that game, outdueling a first round 2019 NFL Draft pick potentially in star Mizzou quarterback Drew Lock.
Only time will tell who trots out on the field for the first possession for the Texas offense in Week 1 against the Terps. The fans seem to favor Ehlinger, but that won’t ultimately matter too much. For Buechele to wind up with more starts this fall than Ehlinger, he’d need to get things rolling with a big win or two out-of-conference against Maryland and the USC Trojans.
All signs point to Ehlinger getting the Week 1 nod, but this competition is far from over. Here we’re just looking at how Buechele could get on a path to earning more starts.
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Obviously, if Ehlinger struggles and Buechele manages to find his way we’ll get more starts coming from the latter option. The main key is for Buechele to get some confidence and momentum going before Herman can think about giving the keys to the offense to Ehlinger.