SAN ANTONIO, Texas — In Sunday's Alamo Bowl press conference, Texas junior quarterback Sam Ehlinger told media he would look to the NFL draft advisory committee about what his potential draft status is for 2020.
However, he followed up the statement by mentioning his main focus is on the Alamo Bowl preparation.
“It’s just let’s see what they say,” Ehlinger said. “I really haven’t thought about it to tell you the truth. I want to win a bowl game and so I'll probably evaluate and think about things from there.”
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The College Advisory Committee serves as a resource for collegiate athletes to "have all the facts" as it states on the NFL Operations website. Underclassmen can seek advice from the committee and they'll be given a grade: either a potential first-rounder, a potential second-rounder, or neither, which means they're basically advised to stay in school at that point.
“I haven’t really sat down and talked to a whole lot of people about it just because I’m focused on leading these guys and being he best I can be for them,” Ehlinger said at the Alamo Bowl press conference. “Honestly, going into this year, I didn’t really even think about it. I wasn’t considering that at all. So I just feel extremely blessed that’s even a question that’s being talked about.”
Ehlinger was an early 2019 Heisman candidate, but that hype faded off midway through the season as Texas lost to Oklahoma, TCU and Iowa State. Ehlinger has thrown for 3,462 yards and 29 touchdowns in 2019, which puts him within striking distance of a few of Colt McCoy's UT passing records should he stay at Texas for his senior season.
Another potential piece to the puzzle for Ehlinger to think about is the hiring of Texas' new offensive coordinator. The Longhorns announced on Dec. 29 – two days before the Alamo Bowl – that the new offensive coordinator would be Mike Yurcich.
Yurcich leaves Ohio State as the Buckeyes' passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2019, where he helped mold Justin Fields into a Heisman candidate.
"We haven't talked much," Ehlinger said when asked about his conversations with Herman about who will be calling the plays for Texas in 2020. "He was very transparent with me in what he was looking for and what he wanted to do. He made sure I felt like I was very involved and understanding of the situation and the process ... so I appreciated that tremendously. Right now, we're focused on winning the bowl game and it's not my place to say what his decisions are or where he wants to take this program because ultimately, he's the had coach."
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