Sam Ehlinger Named Starting QB for Texas vs. San Jose State over Shane Buechele
True freshman Sam Ehlinger will start at quarterback for the Texas Longhorns when they take on the San Jose State Spartans on Saturday at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, the Longhorn Network reported.
Shane Buechele, Texas' starter entering the year, suffered a bruised right shoulder in the team's 51-41 season-opening defeat to the Maryland Terrapins.
Ehlinger was the No. 4 dual-threat quarterback in the 2017 recruiting class, according to Scout.
Earlier this week, Texas offensive coordinator Tim Beck said he thought the Longhorns offensive players would have little trouble adjusting to having the true freshman under center.
"The question comes up, how does the team feel? I think the team will follow him," Beck said, per the San Antonio Express-News' Nick Moyle. "I think the coaches respect him. He's a hardworking young man. He's a great student. And he does everything right. How do you not follow one of those guys? And he plays really, really hard. So you love that. That's all you can ask of the guy."
The fact Texas plays San Jose State likely made the decision to start Ehlinger easier. The Spartans ranked 112th in S&P+ defensive rating a year ago, per Football Outsiders, and they allowed 548 total yards and 42 points to the South Florida Bulls in their Week 1 defeat at Spartan Stadium.
