Texas junior quarterback Sam Ehlinger spoke to the media on Tuesday prior to the season opener against Louisiana Tech. Here are the highlights of his media session:
--- This is the first season Ehlinger has not been involved in a quarterback battle at Texas. When asked what has motivated him this season, Ehlinger said, “My love for my teammates, and an urge to be the best, to win championships, to compete for championships, and win every game. I understand that. You look at all the elite competitors, and all the great ones in the past and what they talk about, they talk about their work ethic, and the way that they push themselves. So, just because it's not an open competition, I want to make myself better. I want to make Casey [Thompson] better. I want to make anybody in that quarterback room better. That comes with competition and competing with yourself as well as everybody else.”
--- Ehlinger said he is not concerned about the running back depth. He believes they will be ready to go on game day.
--- In addition, Ehlinger said he is more confident about his team’s ability to run the football behind this offensive line than at any other point in his tenure.
--- Ehlinger has received a ton of preseason attention, and unwarranted attacks from Baker Mayfield and Terry Bradshaw. He asked how he compartmentalizes everything, Ehlinger said he ignores all the outside noise.
--- Ehlinger on Roschon Johnson’s move to running back: “I think he's done a tremendous job. I mean, what a selfless dude. To be moved to the running back position just for emergency causes, and his work ethic hasn't dropped at all. Obviously, he's a freak athlete. He knows the offense really well, and he always has a positive attitude about it. I'm very proud of him.”
--- When asked about his team struggled in the season opener losses against Maryland the past two years, Ehlinger said, “I would say it's has to do a little bit with what I talked to you about, the confidence, right? Not knowing what we were capable of doing on the field. Obviously, in 2017, we didn't have one of those top 10 wins, where it was like, okay, we can compete with the big dogs. So, I think confidence has a lot to do with week one. Understanding where you're at as a team, and knowing that you can compete at a high level.”
--- One area the coaching staff has challenged Ehlinger to develop this season is leading the defense, in addition to this offense. I asked Ehlinger what leading the defense looks like on game days, and he said, “I think for me, throughout the whole game, I should never be quiet. I should never be sitting on the bench thinking about my responsibilities. I've played a good amount of football games. I know what it takes against certain defenses. I know what I've done right and what I've done wrong in the offense. Obviously, I'm still going to do those things in order to make sure that I'm competing at a high level. But once that's over, it's no, okay, I'm going sit and look at the jumbotron and see what's going on. It's going to be a constant moving around, making sure guys heads are in the right place and moving forward.”
--- Ehlinger described being named a captain as one of the biggest honors in his life.
--- Ehlinger on former teammate Shane Buechele being named a captain after only two months on SMU’s campus: “It's unbelievable. Unbelievable honor for Shane, and it doesn't surprise me in any sort of way. That's just the type of dude he is and whatever environment he's in. For him to come in a short period of time and be voted captain at SMU, it's just a testament to his character, who he is as a person, because he's going to work hard, regardless of the situation.”
--- This is the first season Ehlinger has not been involved in a quarterback battle at Texas. When asked what has motivated him this season, Ehlinger said, “My love for my teammates, and an urge to be the best, to win championships, to compete for championships, and win every game. I understand that. You look at all the elite competitors, and all the great ones in the past and what they talk about, they talk about their work ethic, and the way that they push themselves. So, just because it's not an open competition, I want to make myself better. I want to make Casey [Thompson] better. I want to make anybody in that quarterback room better. That comes with competition and competing with yourself as well as everybody else.”
--- Ehlinger said he is not concerned about the running back depth. He believes they will be ready to go on game day.
--- In addition, Ehlinger said he is more confident about his team’s ability to run the football behind this offensive line than at any other point in his tenure.
--- Ehlinger has received a ton of preseason attention, and unwarranted attacks from Baker Mayfield and Terry Bradshaw. He asked how he compartmentalizes everything, Ehlinger said he ignores all the outside noise.
--- Ehlinger on Roschon Johnson’s move to running back: “I think he's done a tremendous job. I mean, what a selfless dude. To be moved to the running back position just for emergency causes, and his work ethic hasn't dropped at all. Obviously, he's a freak athlete. He knows the offense really well, and he always has a positive attitude about it. I'm very proud of him.”
--- When asked about his team struggled in the season opener losses against Maryland the past two years, Ehlinger said, “I would say it's has to do a little bit with what I talked to you about, the confidence, right? Not knowing what we were capable of doing on the field. Obviously, in 2017, we didn't have one of those top 10 wins, where it was like, okay, we can compete with the big dogs. So, I think confidence has a lot to do with week one. Understanding where you're at as a team, and knowing that you can compete at a high level.”
--- One area the coaching staff has challenged Ehlinger to develop this season is leading the defense, in addition to this offense. I asked Ehlinger what leading the defense looks like on game days, and he said, “I think for me, throughout the whole game, I should never be quiet. I should never be sitting on the bench thinking about my responsibilities. I've played a good amount of football games. I know what it takes against certain defenses. I know what I've done right and what I've done wrong in the offense. Obviously, I'm still going to do those things in order to make sure that I'm competing at a high level. But once that's over, it's no, okay, I'm going sit and look at the jumbotron and see what's going on. It's going to be a constant moving around, making sure guys heads are in the right place and moving forward.”
--- Ehlinger described being named a captain as one of the biggest honors in his life.
--- Ehlinger on former teammate Shane Buechele being named a captain after only two months on SMU’s campus: “It's unbelievable. Unbelievable honor for Shane, and it doesn't surprise me in any sort of way. That's just the type of dude he is and whatever environment he's in. For him to come in a short period of time and be voted captain at SMU, it's just a testament to his character, who he is as a person, because he's going to work hard, regardless of the situation.”
