Sam Ehlinger named Texas starting quarterback over Shane Buechele

Sam Ehlinger will start for Texas when it opens its season against Maryland.

Second-year Longhorns head coach Tom Herman announced the news Monday, confirming what seemed like a likely conclusion as UT entered fall camp. Ehlinger, a sophomore, beat out junior Shane Buechele after the two each saw extensive action in 2017.

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Ehlinger seemed to gain Herman’s favor as 2017 progressed

After starting all 12 games as a freshman, Buechele opened the 2017 season as Texas’ starter. But as the season progressed, Herman switched back and forth between Buechele and Ehlinger several times with each playing in nine games.

Late in the year, Ehlinger seemed to grab hold of the starting job. He started the last two games of the regular season at West Virginia and at home against Texas Tech. However, Herman went back to Buechele in the Texas Bowl against Missouri until Buechele was injured early in the game. That put Ehlinger back in the lineup in UT’s 33-16 victory.

Ehlinger had some very gutsy performances, including leading Texas on fourth quarter go-ahead scoring drives against USC and Oklahoma. But he also looked like a freshman, and struggled with turnovers, often late in games.

Overall for the season, Ehlinger threw for 1,915 yards, 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions while completing 57.5 percent of his throws and leading the team with 385 rushing yards. Buechele had a better completion percentage, 64.3, to go with 1,405 yards, seven scores and four interceptions.

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