The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
07.14.2020 | Football
The senior QB leads all active FBS players in completions, passing yards, total offense and touchdowns since the start of the 2018 season.
FORT WORTH, Texas – Texas Football senior QB Sam Ehlinger was named to the Davey O'Brien Award's preseason watch list on Tuesday. The Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award is presented annually to the nation's best college quarterback.
Texas has had three players receive the Davey O'Brien Award, including a pair of quarterbacks. Heisman Trophy winner Earl Campbell was the first to do so in 1977 when the O'Brien Award recognized the top player in the southwest, while Vince Young (2005) and Colt McCoy (2009) make up the pair of Longhorn quarterbacks to win the award. McCoy was also a finalist for the O'Brien Award in 2008.
Ehlinger, a native of Austin, Texas, has started all 27 games for UT over the past two seasons and leads all active FBS quarterbacks in completions (571), attempts (879), passing yards (6,955), total offense (8,100) and total touchdowns (80) since the start of the 2018 season. He also ranks second among active FBS quarterbacks in touchdown passes (57) and fifth in completion percentage (65.0) during that stretch. Ehlinger is the only FBS player to account for at least 50 passing touchdowns and 20 rushing touchdowns over the last two seasons.
In 2019, Ehlinger accounted for 4,326 yards of total offense (3,663 pass/663 rush) – the second-most in school history (4,420 – Colt McCoy, 2008). He was also responsible for 39 total touchdowns (32 pass/7 rush), the No. 3 mark in UT history. That mark came after posting 41 total touchdowns in 2018, the second-best tally by a Longhorn all-time. He is the only player in Texas Football history to record multiple seasons with at least 35 total touchdowns.
Ehlinger threw for at least 200 yards in all 13 games last season, a UT single-season record. He was one of only four quarterbacks nationally to throw for at least 200 yards on 13 occasions, joining a group that featured Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow (LSU), Anthony Gordon (Washington State) and Cole McDonald (Hawaii). Ehlinger also rewrote Texas' single-season benchmark for games with at least three passing touchdowns (7) and games with at least four passing touchdowns (4) last year.
Sixteen semifinalists for the Davey O'Brien Award will be unveiled on Tuesday, Nov. 10. From that list, three finalists will be selected on Tuesday, Nov. 24. The 2020 Davey O'Brien Award winner will be unveiled live on ESPN Thursday, Dec. 10, during The Home Depot College Football Awards.
The 44th Annual Davey O'Brien Awards Dinner is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 15, 2021 in Fort Worth.
