Texas Football: NFL Network mistakes Jake for Sam Ehlinger on draft night

The 2021 NFL Draft transpired throughout most of the weekend, and the Texas football program had a decently strong class turn out this year. Texas Exes were picked up five times in the actual seven rounds of the 2021 draft. And the drought of second-round picks at least ended this year (which dated back to 2018), with the Washington Football Team selecting offensive tackle Samuel Cosmi 51st overall.

The fifth and final former Longhorn that heard his name called on day three of the draft festivities was former Texas star senior quarterback Sam Ehlinger. This hometown product and lifelong Longhorns fan was picked up by general manager Chris Ballard, head coach Frank Reich, and the Indianapolis Colts out of the AFC South with the 217th overall pick in the sixth round of the draft.

On a special night for the former Longhorns star Ehlinger on May 1, NFL Network didn’t quite get it right when they were showing his picture on the graphic after he was picked. It wasn’t necessarily NFL Network mixing up Sam for Jake Ehlinger with the reaction at his home, but the actual graphic that was developed while covering the draft live.

NFL Network gets Texas football LB Jake Ehlinger confused with Sam Ehlinger

Jake is a former walk-on linebacker that stands at 5-foot-11 and 230 pounds for the Longhorns. He is now in his sophomore campaign and will be playing his first without his brother Sam as a teammate.

Sam had a big senior campaign for the Longhorns and capped off his college career last season with an Alamo Bowl win over the Colorado Buffaloes in dominant fashion back on Dec. 29. He is the first former Texas quarterback picked in the actual seven rounds of the draft since the Cleveland Browns selected Colt McCoy 85th overall in the third round in 2010.

Joining a Colts quarterback room that also features the likes of former Washington Huskies and Georgia Bulldogs signal caller Jacob Eason and Carson Wentz, Ehlinger finds himself in an interesting spot. But the Colts did establish a reputation of having one of the better starting quarterbacks in the NFL over the course of the last two decades. That list includes Andrew Luck, Peyton Manning, and Philip Rivers.

Texas finished up last season with a record of 7-3 (5-3 Big 12) under the direction of former head coach Tom Herman. Then, the Longhorns replaced Herman with former Alabama Crimson Tide offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian as head coach back on Jan. 2.