Texas commit Sam Ehlinger has become something of a recruiting success story for the Longhorns. He was an unheralded player when he committed to Texas, but is on the verge of being the Lone Star State’s top quarterback prospect, and would thus be a coup for both the talent-identification and commitment-maintenance divisions of Texas’ coaching staff if he follows through and ends up going to school in Austin.
Texas commit Sam Ehlinger models his game after Cam Newton and Drew Brees
An interview with the leader of Texas’ 2017 recruiting class.
Ehlinger’s own talent-identification division, though, might be the most interesting thing about him, given the two wildly disparate passers he said he’s modeling himself after in an interview at The Opening on Thursday.
“It’s kind of a mix of Cam Newton and Drew Brees,” Ehlinger said. Ehlinger explained that he admires that Brees is “so fluid” despite not having the ideal height, and that he considers himself a dual-threat player, though he didn’t quite compare himself to Cam.
Then again, given that Ehlinger cited “talking to the defense too much” as his greatest weakness, maybe he’s got at least a little bit of Newton’s supreme confidence.
Ehlinger picked two good models, to be sure. There’s no doubting that Newton and Brees -- who have won NFL MVP and Super Bowl MVP awards, respectively -- are great quarterbacks. But apart from their considerable arm strength in their prime, they could scarcely be more different.
Newton is 6’5 and 245 pounds, and lasers passes to receivers from a variety of arm angles while also boasting the mobility to make plays outside of the pocket. Brees is listed at 6’0 and 209 pounds, possibly generously, and has had to deal with worries about declining arm strength and shoulder injuries in recent years. He did enjoy his fifth season with a passer rating of over 100.00 in 2015, though, joining an elite fraternity of QBs to do so at age 36 or later.
If Ehlinger can somehow become an unholy hybrid of Newton and Brees? That pickup’s just gonna look better and better for Charlie Strong and the Longhorns.
