Texas Football: Where 247 ranked Cosmi, Ehlinger among top 50 CFB players

This fall, the Texas football program is going to have a lot more productivity returning to do some real damage throughout the Big 12 slate.

The 2020 season is soon to be upon us, and the Texas football program has a lot more experienced and talented team returning this year compared to last. Texas brings back the bulk of their starters from last season’s team on both sides of the ball, so there will be much less of an excuse if they’re not able to live up to expectations come this fall.

There will be a handful of Longhorns players in particular that will be key to their success this fall. On the offensive side of the ball, it will namely be the likes of rising senior star quarterback Sam Ehlinger, junior running back Keaontay Ingram, and junior wide receiver Brennan Eagles that push this team. But on defense, it will be junior safeties Caden Sterns and B.J. Foster, along with junior linebacker Joseph Ossai that push this team further.

But there are also some often overlooked talents for the Longhorns on each side of the ball that are going to be critical to this team’s success this coming season. And 247Sports recently ranked out who they felt would be the most integral players for the Longhorns this fall compared to the other top talents in the nation.

Chris Hummer of 247Sports pieced together who he felt were the top 50 college football players for the 2020 season in the entire country. This list also included a few current and former FCS players, like North Dakota State star quarterback Trey Lance and former NDSU linebacker (transferred to join the LSU Tigers) Jabril Cox.

The Longhorns that fell in the top 50 included Ehlinger (at No. 27) and rising redshirt junior offensive tackle Sam Cosmi (at No. 17). That should remind college football fans all over the country how good Cosmi is, and how he could be an early-to-mid first round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft if he decides to declare early next offseason.

Cosmi will lead an offensive line group that should only continue to get better this fall under offensive line coach/co-offensive coordinator Herb Hand. Ehlinger will also be the most critical piece to the Longhorns offensive success as a whole this fall.

The only other Longhorn on this list as an honorable mention was Sterns. The likes of Ossai, Ingram, and Foster were all left off, whether right or wrong. Ossai did have a more productive 2019 campaign compared to Sterns, by a good margin, but his star is still rising.

The top five (in order from bottom to top) included LSU safety Derek Stingley Jr., LSU wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields, Oregon offensive tackle Penei Sewell, and Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence. A number of Big 12 quarterbacks, running backs, and wide receivers were also on this list including Iowa State’s Brock Purdy, Oklahoma State running back Chuba Hubbard and wide receiver Tylan Wallace, and Kansas running back Pooka Williams.

Texas is looking to open the season either presumably against the South Florida Bulls or UTEP Miners in their non-conference slate this fall. They’ll be doing so with a bulk of upperclassmen projected to start this coming season, which will bring much needed experience to the table for the Longhorns.