Texas Football: Where CBS Sports slots Ehlinger amid Heisman contenders

CBS Sports released their thoughts on how the best quarterbacks slot in the national picture this year, including junior Texas football star Sam Ehlinger.

The quarterback position is one of surety this year for the Texas football program. It might be the most reliable and the deepest of any position group on either side of the ball for head coach Tom Herman and his Longhorns team. Rising senior star quarterback Sam Ehlinger headlines a pretty talented and experienced returning group of starters for Texas on offense.

Ehlinger is also by far the best shot that the Longhorns look to have at a Heisman finalist representing the program this year. If he does take the program to new heights this fall, including a shot at a Big 12 Championship for the first time in more than a decade, then Ehlinger will have a great shot at getting the national recognition necessary to be one of the top Heisman contenders.

And we’re not the only ones that feel that way about Ehlinger’a Heisman chances. According to a ranking from CBS Sports earlier this week of the top Heisman contenders at the quarterback position this year, Ehlinger could be finding himself as a finalist in 2020.

This piece from CBS Sports broke down the top quarterbacks in the FBS into a few different tiers. There was a top tier that consisted of the top two consensus signal callers for the coming season, Trevor Lawrence of the Clemson Tigers and Justin Fields of the Ohio State Buckeyes.

The second tier consisted verbatim of “potential all-conference selections and a few fringe Heisman contenders”. This is where Ehlinger fell in line. There were 10 total quarterbacks mentioned in tier two, with only one ranked above Ehlinger. That one was Minnesota Golden Gophers rising junior signal caller Tanner Morgan.

Here’s what the piece had to say on Ehlinger’s spot in tier two.

"Oklahoma has dominated the Big 12 quarterback power rankings in recent years, but 2020’s race could come down to Ehlinger and Purdy. They’re stat monsters who shoulder a lot of the responsibilities in their respective offenses. However, Purdy was probably asked to do to a little too much with the losses of Hakeem Butler and David Montgomery."

A few of the other notable quarterbacks in two tier, still ranked below Ehlinger, included Texas Ex Shane Buechele, Iowa State’s Brock Purdy, USC’s Kedon Slovis, UNC’s Sam Howell, and Miami’s D’Eriq King.

And then tier three was generally considered the best of the rest across the country. That part of the list included the likes of Notre Dame’s Ian Book, Baylor’s Charlie Brewer, Texas A&M’s Kellen Mond, and Kansas State’s Skylar Thompson.

Last season, Ehlinger racked up roughly 4,100 total yards, 39 total touchdowns, and just 10 interceptions. He also compiled a career best completion percentage (above 65.0) and career-high passer efficiency rating.