Texas Football: Breaking down the 2018 depth chart

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AUSTIN, TX – OCTOBER 21: Sam Ehlinger #11 of the Texas Longhorns warms up before the game against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on October 21, 2017 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /

Quarterback

Starter: Sam Ehlinger, sophomore

Backup: Shane Buechele, junior

It looked like junior quarterback Shane Buechele made a real run at winning the starting job in the final week of fall camp, before the last scrimmage. Yet, it was sophomore Sam Ehlinger that will be the starter for the Horns in Week 1. Ehlinger did look like the favorite for most of the off-season.

The two true freshman quarterbacks weren’t listed on the depth chart, possibly because of one getting the redshirt. California native Cameron Rising took the first-team reps among the freshmen. Oklahoma native Casey Thompson would be the favorite to land a redshirt, but Herman might try to do so for both of them.

Texas will look to give Ehlinger the support he finally needs to thrive in the starting role. A lot of the discussion with the ongoing situation around Ehlinger and Buechele is the consistency of having just one starter. Last year, Buechele was the season-opening starter, then had to split time due to injury and performance issues.

Ehlinger is the right move given the current state of the Texas offense, and the job is now his for the taking. His improvisational ability and tough running style makes him a unique threat in the Big 12. Watch out for both Buechele and Ehlinger to get snaps early on in the regular season and we’ll likely have that happen in the first two weeks against Maryland and the Tulsa Golden Hurricane.

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