Sam Ehlinger Selected to Manning Award Watch List
Texas Football senior QB Sam Ehlinger was named to the Manning Award preseason watch list on Thursday. The Manning Award, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl, honors the nation’s top collegiate quarterback and is the only award that considers the candidates’ bowl performances in its balloting. Thursday’s announcement marks the second-straight year that Ehlinger has been named to the Manning Award watch list.
Ehlinger, an Austin native, has started all 27 games for UT over the past two seasons and leads all active FBS quarterbacks in completions (571), attempts (879), passing yards (6,955), total offense (8,100) and total touchdowns (80) since the start of the 2018 season. He also ranks second among active FBS quarterbacks in touchdown passes (57) and fifth in completion percentage (65.0) during that stretch. Ehlinger is the only FBS player to account for at least 50 passing touchdowns and 20 rushing touchdowns over the last two seasons.
In 2019, Ehlinger accounted for 4,326 yards of total offense (3,663 pass/663 rush) – the second-most in school history (4,420 – Colt McCoy, 2008). He was also responsible for 39 total touchdowns (32 pass/7 rush), the No. 3 mark in UT history. That mark came after posting 41 total touchdowns in 2018, the second-best tally by a Longhorn all-time. He is the only player in Texas Football history to record multiple seasons with at least 35 total touchdowns.
Ehlinger threw for at least 200 yards in all 13 games last season, a UT single-season record. He was one of only four quarterbacks nationally to throw for at least 200 yards on 13 occasions, joining a group that featured Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow (LSU), Anthony Gordon (Washington State) and Cole McDonald (Hawaii). Ehlinger also rewrote Texas’ single-season benchmark for games with at least three passing touchdowns (7) and games with at least four passing touchdowns (4) last year.
In addition to being a Manning Award candidate, Ehlinger has also been recognized on the Maxwell Award, Davey O’Brien Award and Wuerffel Trophy preseason watch lists and was a Preseason All-Big 12 selection for the second-straight year. He has also been named a third-team Preseason All-American and a first-team All-Big 12 Preseason selection by Phil Steele in 2020.
The Manning Award was created by the Allstate Sugar Bowl in honor of the college football accomplishments of Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning. In addition to the Manning Award’s yearly honor, each week during the regular season, eight quarterbacks are recognized as Manning Quarterbacks of the Week.
