Texas Football: Where Sam Ehlinger landed in updated Heisman odds

Rising senior Texas football quarterback Sam Ehlinger has a lot of hype heading into the 2020 season, including possible Heisman contention.

Of the major sportsbook outlets, the most recent to release their updated 2020 Heisman Trophy odds came from Westgate Sportsbook earlier this month. And there was one player from the Texas football program mentioned in these summer updated 2020 Heisman odds. That one Texas player is rising senior star quarterback Sam Ehlinger.

This Heisman odds list had the Longhorns starting signal caller higher than most others at this point in time. They had Ehlinger with the fourth best odds to win the 2020 Heisman Trophy (at +1400). The three players listed ahead of Ehlinger (in order from bottom-to-top) included Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler, and then Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence and Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields tied at No. 1.

The only other player out of the Big 12 that made this Heisman odds list that isn’t already mentioned in this piece is Oklahoma State rising redshirt sophomore star running back Chuba Hubbard (+2500). That means that other star Big 12 skill position players that could be dark horse Heisman contenders like Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy, Baylor quarterback Charlie Brewer, and Oklahoma running back Kennedy Brooks were snubbed from these odds.

But this odds list is obviously high on the projected starting quarterbacks of the two traditional powers in the Big 12. Rattler has yet to make a single start in his college career. But Oklahoma does have two of the last three Heisman Trophy winners, both of which were quarterbacks (Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray).

Last season, Ehlinger registered more than 3,600 passing yards, more than four yards per carry, 39 total touchdowns, and just 10 interceptions. He actually had his most efficient season in his college career to date during his junior campaign.

Texas finished up with a record of 8-5 (5-4 Big 12) last season after falling short of expectations from a preseason top 10 ranking in the major polls. They will open up the 2020 season at home against the South Florida Bulls on Sep. 5 (if all holds to plan through the novel coronavirus pandemic).