Cliff-notes: Texas picked up its second commitment of the 2017 class on Tuesday with a verbal pledge from Austin Westlake quarterback Sam Ehlinger.
Key Offers: Texas, SMU and Houston.
Evaluation: You'll have to excuse me, but I kind of feel like president of the Sam Ehlinger Fan Club, so just know that you're talking to someone who believed in his high-end upside long before his stock took off this summer. At a listed 6-1, 207 pounds, Ehlinger is in my mind the best passer from the pocket in the entire state, regardless of classification. While he has the ability to move around the pocket and make accurate throws on the move, his ability to stand in the pocket in the face of pressure just leaps out at you when you watch him on film. In addition to owning a live arm that will allow him to make all of the needed throws in the passing tree, Ehlinger's accuracy (especially in the short and intermediate range) is at en elite level. As a guy that has seen every Westlake quarterback the school has produced in the last 20+ years, the only guy I'd rank ahead of Ehlinger (by a very slight margin) at this point is Drew Brees and expect those comparisons to live on for the foreseeable future because of the school, position and reality that both aren't the tallest kids in the world. As far as a his athleticism is concerned, he can make plays with his feet and he'll extend the action with his ability to avoid traffic, but first and foremost, this kid is a potentially outstanding passing quarterback.
Why it matters: Regardless of the order in which you rank them, there are three in-state quarterbacks that stand above the rest of the pack in 2017 and two of them (Shawn Robinson to TCU and Chris Robison to Oklahoma) were already off the board at the timing of the offer that went to Ehlinger earlier this month. Locking up Ehlinger means that the Longhorns long-term quarterback outlook appears to be incredibly strong with top-end prospects in 2016 (Arlington Lamar's Shane Buechele) and 2017 (Ehlinger). Plus, Ehlinger is a guy that bleeds orange through and through, which means that his long-term efforts as a recruiter for Charlie Strong's program could end up producing big dividends. For instance, he's good friends with 2016 superstar linebacker Erick Fowler of Manor and I'll bet you $10 right now that Ehlinger finds a way to get Fowler on campus a couple of times before National Signing Day in February.
About the ranking: Trust me on this one. The kid is a baller. Although he didn't show out at the big national camps this spring the way his 2017 peers Robinson and Robison did, Ehlinger is a guy who will rank among the national elite before it's all said and done, and I'll point to his MVP honors at the Texas Elite Passing Camp and the Texas State Seven-on-Seven tournament as proof of that. Outside of Robinson, there's not anyone else in the state of Texas in 2017 that I would take over Ehlinger, and I make that remark with an ample amount of respect for Chris Robinson.
Ehlinger's Sophomore Video via HUDL
Rankings: Ehlinger debuted at No. 10 in the June release of the 2017 Lone Star Recruiting rankings, as I ranked him as a 4.50 four-star level prospect. He currently ranks as a 5.7 (high) three-star in the Rivals.com national rankings.Key Offers: Texas, SMU and Houston.
Evaluation: You'll have to excuse me, but I kind of feel like president of the Sam Ehlinger Fan Club, so just know that you're talking to someone who believed in his high-end upside long before his stock took off this summer. At a listed 6-1, 207 pounds, Ehlinger is in my mind the best passer from the pocket in the entire state, regardless of classification. While he has the ability to move around the pocket and make accurate throws on the move, his ability to stand in the pocket in the face of pressure just leaps out at you when you watch him on film. In addition to owning a live arm that will allow him to make all of the needed throws in the passing tree, Ehlinger's accuracy (especially in the short and intermediate range) is at en elite level. As a guy that has seen every Westlake quarterback the school has produced in the last 20+ years, the only guy I'd rank ahead of Ehlinger (by a very slight margin) at this point is Drew Brees and expect those comparisons to live on for the foreseeable future because of the school, position and reality that both aren't the tallest kids in the world. As far as a his athleticism is concerned, he can make plays with his feet and he'll extend the action with his ability to avoid traffic, but first and foremost, this kid is a potentially outstanding passing quarterback.
Why it matters: Regardless of the order in which you rank them, there are three in-state quarterbacks that stand above the rest of the pack in 2017 and two of them (Shawn Robinson to TCU and Chris Robison to Oklahoma) were already off the board at the timing of the offer that went to Ehlinger earlier this month. Locking up Ehlinger means that the Longhorns long-term quarterback outlook appears to be incredibly strong with top-end prospects in 2016 (Arlington Lamar's Shane Buechele) and 2017 (Ehlinger). Plus, Ehlinger is a guy that bleeds orange through and through, which means that his long-term efforts as a recruiter for Charlie Strong's program could end up producing big dividends. For instance, he's good friends with 2016 superstar linebacker Erick Fowler of Manor and I'll bet you $10 right now that Ehlinger finds a way to get Fowler on campus a couple of times before National Signing Day in February.
About the ranking: Trust me on this one. The kid is a baller. Although he didn't show out at the big national camps this spring the way his 2017 peers Robinson and Robison did, Ehlinger is a guy who will rank among the national elite before it's all said and done, and I'll point to his MVP honors at the Texas Elite Passing Camp and the Texas State Seven-on-Seven tournament as proof of that. Outside of Robinson, there's not anyone else in the state of Texas in 2017 that I would take over Ehlinger, and I make that remark with an ample amount of respect for Chris Robinson.
Ehlinger's Sophomore Video via HUDL
