Sam Ehlinger

Sam looked above average for a true freshman. I liked what I saw. He had time to throw, he hit some, missed some and held the ball too long and scrambled. He looked better in the second half. He was spelled and helped by the staff by being replaced by Heard more than a few times. Not sure what Sam would have done in those situations as he did play the the entire game. I think TH got accomplished what he wanted to. He wanted to give Boo's back ups playing time. Both Heard and Sam will now be better prepared to go into a game if Boo cant play for some reason.

 

The games were different.

I still prefer Shane at this point.

Just giving Sam his due where I thought he did well. He sees the pocket and lanes well. Coach said he missed several early reads on receivers. Maybe he was staying too aware of his immediate surroundings. But he moved well in the pocket and made positive yards every time he ran. I like that.

 

The threaded pass to Johnson early in the second quarter and the tip toe sideline throw were impressive. Also, Ahmad Brooks pointed out several times his ability to throw while rolling to his left.

I feel better about the QB situation after yesterday.

 

MD beats SJSU easily.

 

Sam played well and at times looked good. For a true Frosh he played very well BUT many times he did look like a FROSH. What I saw was real potential as he progresses. One thing to learn is when to throw a bullet and when to loft, hmmm sound familiar?
What I did find VERY impressive was his awareness of the play clock. On more than one occasion he came to the line with 5 seconds (or less) remaining on clock and each time got the play off in time - no penalty and no time out. If you watched this it was quite impressive, and imo, not normal for Texas in quite awhile.
Hookem

 

Am I the only one concerned that I have seen two different QBs in two weeks, and both hold the ball too damn long allowing the DBs to recover?

Also a couple of Sam's "threaded passes" yesterday would have been picks by a good HS team.

Not knocking Sam, just being a realist. Make your reads and throw the damn ball on the break!

 

every time we sign a qb from the austin area we get this roar about the second coming and then we get the Street kid or Gilbert, etc.

He looked good against weak opposition. He ran a lot and looked fearless in that role. If he makes it through the season it will be a sign from God.

EDIT: thanks to VYFan for pointing out my error re Street-------the legacy I was thinking about was James Saxton's son, who was pretty good, but not the Second Coming

Hopefully SE will be the answer to our prayers

 

Do you mean Huston Street, from Westake, who won us a national championship and was MVP of the CWS?
Drew Brees from Westake would have been ok to have, too.
Michael Brewer of Lake Travis was better than what we had.
Baker Mayfield of Lake Travis--is he a bust?
Isn't Gilbert the only example of your generality?

 

Oh, apologies to Nick Foles of Westake; left him out.

 

I'll list one more thing Sam did better than Shane: riding out the fake on the zone read so that the LBs had to hesitate a second before they were sure Chris Warren actually had the ball to see whether Sam was keeping it. That shows up in Warren's stats, not Sam's.

 

Makes me feel better to see someone else recognizes our general complacency with fakes - play action and on the the ZR.

 

BTW--I really like Buechelle and Heard,too, for that matter.

 

the mark of a good qb is throwing the ball at the time or even before the receivers break. That's perfect timing and is almost impossible to defend. Colt was so good at that and baker mayfield was doing that yesterday i noticed. I see that Shane is getting closer to that on occasion but he does hang on the ball too long sometimes. Can't wait to see that when both our qbs get that timing down.

 

I think that our o-line was inspired during the course of the game by the runs of SE though none have said that i no of. I think that it mentally gave them some umph, some spark because Sam was picking up some first downs. He runs tough and that inspires lineman to block tougher.

 

I think it was on Sam's first pass he threw a square out before the receiver's break--and the guy never broke but kept going downfield. May have made him wait longer for a while. (Not sure which guy had the route wrong)

 

Over all i thought Sam played well for a true freshman is his first ever start.

He was very inconsistent. He missed some wide open receivers that would have led to scores or big gains.

He hit some receivers in tight spots for nice plays.

He made quick decisions to escape the pocket and pick up nice gains with his feet.

He was pure lucky to have awful throws not get intercepted (2).

He had all day to throw on multiple occasions.

He was very fortunate to play against a team that was not talented, not deep, and not physical. They had one player on their team that might, might, crack our top 22 and that was their tight end, a big physical TE who had mobility and good hands. He got hurt and missed half the game.

 

^^^

This. All in all he played well for a true freshman playing in his first scrimmage against the #2 defense,--I mean-- game...

He held on to the ball for too long, and he was late on couple completions that would have been interceptions if we were playing a team with a defense.
His scrambling ability is a bit of a double edged sword right now, too. Yes, he doesn't get us behind the sticks and that is good, but he also takes his eyes down too soon.
Plus (this is a big plus) when we have no QB depth we really can't afford for him to be taking on linebackers with his legs.

I real defense would have eaten Sam for lunch. Boo gives us our best shot at being a mediocre team this season.

 

I've long been an advocate of redshirting quarterbacks, but since Sam's shirt is off (if I had that physique, I'd rarely wear a shirt) let's get together a package and play him in most every game. (By the way -- with Rising and Thompson arriving next year -- I'm completely OK with giving Sam just 4 years to shine) Sam can throw, Sam can run and his skill set enhances the running game. He's not an every down quarterback yet, but he can shine in the right circumstances. He'll learn every week and maybe by late October we would be OK with him starting if Shane gets hurt.

 

Agree with @Crockett. That seems to have been an issue with our depth. Play the guy and prepare him. We need all we can get!

 

At this point I think the jury's back on the idea that Shane can stand up to regular pounding that comes with being an integral part of the run game. (Verdict: no.) So I think you've got to mix in either Sam and/or Jerrod to at least give the guy a rest. Considering that he doesn't add much on the zone read, I'm not sure there's much point in having him run it, anyway considering that defenses will key on the back every time and the only plus comes when he keeps it, and subsequently gains 3-4 yards and gets hit.

I think there's a pretty solid argument to be made that if you want a package of plays for a backup QB, it should be for Heard. He brings explosiveness and enough of a downfield threat that they can't stack the run. Maybe Ellinger works better in short yardage since he's got the size, but against top talent, I don't know that his running is good enough to justify putting him in over Heard in a run-oriented package.

 

Very logical Prodigal, but since Ellinger's shirt has been burned he needs to play QB more than Heard. Heard has his package (which is a little different than Warren's package), but Heard's receiving is needed.

 

I'd play all three. If you count Heard as QB in the wildcat.

 

Heard is certainly a more exciting runner. I contend Sam is a better thrower and has better potential -- even in the short term -- to read defenses, spot the open receiver, and hit receiver where they are in better positionto make a play.

 

I would start Buechele and mix in Heard. Sam would not play this year except in mop up duty. Sam is not ready yet. It would be ugly for him to go up agaisnt Power 5 teams right now, unless we just do not have a choice. I think Sam can be a great starting QB long term, but I do not think he is better than Heard at the moment and he is light years behind Buechele as a passer right now.

I could not comprehend where some posters were coming from on Sam. After rewatching the game on TV, I discovered that Sam looks a lot better on TV than in person because the camera angles do not allow you to see the entire field.

Anyway, excited for Sam in the future, but the present needs to be Buechele and Heard if the score is close.

 

Is it? We already have more receivers than we can get in a game.

 

this was my thought when i said play all 3. though, i think he'd also be valuable WHEN Shane gets his bell rung in games. Giving Heard an entire series would not be as smooth as sitting Shane to rest and giving Sam a chance to hand the ball off, run when pressured, and make a throw or two. This keeps the OLine and backs in their rhythm.

 

I think Sam will start against USC only because I believe that's what the coaches have wanted all along.

 

I don't doubt it, Phil. But if that's true that the coaches want Sam, they're fools.

With Boo healthy and starting we are a mediocre .500 team (not a knock on boo.)
With a healthy Sam we might be a 5 win team.
If both of them wind up hurt, I don't even want to think what we are.

 

I just think that they believe Sam fits the system they want to run better. They can't say that, so they needed an excuse to burn Sam's shirt and put him in. Voila, bruised shoulder for Shane provided the necessary cover. I guess we will know on Sat night.

 

I think that's a Sterlin Gilbert hallmark.