Texas' Sam Ehlinger Ruled Out for Alamo Bowl vs. Colorado with Shoulder Injury

Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger suffered a shoulder injury and has been ruled out for the remainder of the Longhorns' Alamo Bowl matchup with Colorado, per the Longhorn Network.

Ehlinger played the first half and went 10-of-16 for 160 yards and one touchdown to help Texas take a 17-10 halftime lead. He was sacked on his final two dropbacks.

Dustin McComas of Orangebloods.com provided more insight:

Casey Thompson took over at quarterback to start the second half.

Ehlinger has played four years at Texas, but he has the option to return for a fifth season after the NCAA froze eligibility for all fall sports athletes in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ehlinger spoke about his options—either returning to Texas or heading for the NFL—on Dec. 23, per Chip Brown of Horns247.

"I'm blessed to be in a position where there are two really positive options," Ehlinger said. "After the bowl game, I'll sit down with my family and people I trust and talk it over and see what's the best direction to head."

As Brian Davis of the Austin American-Statesman noted, Ehlinger will finish second in school history with 11,336 career passing yards, 94 career touchdowns and 923 completions (all behind Colt McCoy) if he decides to leave UT.

Ehlinger led the No. 20 Longhorns to a 6-3 regular-season record in 2020. He accounted for 33 total touchdowns (25 passing, eight rushing) while completing 60.1 percent of his passes for 2,406 yards and rushing for an additional 382 yards.

Texas' best season under the four-year starter occurred in 2018, when the Longhorns reached the Big 12 Championship Game, defeated Georgia in the Sugar Bowl and finished No. 9 in the Associated Press and coaches polls.