Texas Football: Ehlinger gets Player of the Week honors after opener

Senior Texas football star quarterback Sam Ehlinger had a huge first week of the 2020 season for the Longhorns, and earned weekly honors.

The Week 1 showing for star senior quarterback Sam Ehlinger and the Texas football program was nothing short of spectacular as they took down an opponent that didn’t have much of a chance from the get go. Texas knocked off the UTEP Miners out of Conference-USA at home at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on the night of Sep. 12 by the final score of 59-3.

There was a first half record in this game set by Ehlinger and the Longhorns. The more than 425 passing yards and five passing touchdowns that Ehlinger amassed in the first half against UTEP in that 56-point mauling on Saturday night. He had a massive first half, en route to giving the Longhorns a 45-3 lead.

While the Longhorns did slow down in the second half, redshirt sophomore quarterback and backup Casey Thompson was still solid in his limited role. In the second half, Thompson completed four of his seven passing attempts for 55 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, and no interceptions.

Both Ehlinger and Thompson didn’t notch a single interception in this game. They also both had passer efficiency ratings well over 200, and more than a dozen adjusted yards per passing attempt. Thompson and Ehlinger combined for more than 500 total yards, seven passing touchdowns, no picks, and a completion percentage over 70.

For the efforts of Ehlinger, largely just in the first half against UTEP, he would receive Walter Camp National Player of the Week honors. It is the first time that Ehlinger received such honors since the middle of the 2018 season. He is also apparently the ninth Longhorn to get the weekly honors since the 2004 campaign.

The offense was mostly guided by the passing attack against UTEP. Ehlinger led the way in the new look system under recently hired offensive coordinator, and former Ohio State passing game coordinator, Mike Yurcich.

And this could just be the beginning of what could be a big year for Ehlinger.

Next up for the 1-0 Longhorns is a showdown on the road in the Big 12 opener against the Texas Tech Red Raiders. UTEP now moves to a record of 1-1 on the season, after the loss to Texas and their season opening win over the FCS Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks back on Sep. 5.