Texas Football: Sam Ehlinger on Davey O’Brian Award Watch List

The Davey O’Brien Award Watch List for the 2020 preseason is complete now with rising senior Texas football quarterback Sam Ehlinger included.

A lot of the preseason award watch lists were announced, with some names involving the Texas football program, in the last few days. And one of the most significant involving a member of the Longhorns football team was the rising senior star quarterback Sam Ehlinger on the preseason Davey O’Brien Award Watch List.

On July 14, the official watch list for the Davey O’Brien honors was announced. And it included a number of other names relevant to the Longhorns. Former Texas quarterback and rising SMU Mustangs redshirt senior Shane Buechele joined Ehlinger on the watch list.

Both Buechele and Ehlinger were semifinalists for the Davey O’Brien last year. The Ohio State Buckeyes rising redshirt sophomore signal caller Justin Fields was the lone finalist from the race to win the award last year that was named to the watch list this preseason.

Other significant names that were listed on the watch list this preseason includes Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, Baylor’s Charlie Brewer, Iowa State’s Brock Purdy, Texas Tech’s Alan Bowman, Notre Dame’s Ian Book, Texas A&M’s Kellen Mond, Oklahoma State’s Spencer Sanders, and USC’s Kedon Slovis.

The winner of the Davey O’Brien Award for each of the last three seasons is someone that the Longhorns faced. Last year, it was the Heisman winner and LSU Tigers superstar Joe Burrow that took the hardware back to Baton Rouge. And in the previous two years, it was an Oklahoma Sooners quarterback that won the award (Kyler Murray in 2018 and Baker Mayfield in 2017).

Texas had two of their own win it since 2000. The last Texas signal caller to do so was Colt McCoy in 2009. And Vince Young won the honors back in 2005. Both McCoy and VY were Heisman finalists in the year they won the Davey O’Brien award.

Ehlinger finished up his junior season with more than 4,000 total yards, 39 total touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. He’s set to open the season with the Longhorns (as long as it holds true to form) on Sep. 5 at home against the South Florida Bulls.