Texas Football: 3 most exciting players from Longhorns 2019 team

3. Sam Ehlinger, Quarterback

The Texas offense would’ve been much worse off last year if it were not for the record-breaking production of junior quarterback Sam Ehlinger. Texas got 3,663 passing yards, 32 touchdowns through the air, and just 10 picks, last year from Ehlinger as he followed up his breakthrough sophomore campaign with a good junior season.

Ehlinger added 677 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on the ground to tally up more than 4,000 total yards and 39 total touchdowns. His number of rushing touchdowns was a far cry from the 16 he registered during his sophomore season, but that’s a hard mark to match with such a bad offensive line throughout Big 12 play.

But Ehlinger actually rushed for more yards and averaged more yards per carry than the previous two seasons. He averaged more than four yards per carry for the first time in his career. Ehlinger did lead the Big 12 in rushing touchdowns in 2018 and ranked in the top 10 in the country (FBS programs), with 16.

The dual-threat star signal caller is the best returning quarterback in the Big 12 this coming season. And his relentless effort and true playmaking ability makes him a must-watch week in and week out. He delivered another productive year for the Longhorns in 2019, and hopefully the same is just around the corner in 2020.