For now, Buechele gets the nod at QB
AUSTIN — If Texas had to walk out onto the field today and face Maryland, sophomore quarterback Shane Buechele would start under center.
Admittedly, that bit of news won’t rouse the masses like Monday’s solar eclipse. But with the Longhorns’ Sept. 2 season opener creeping closer, it is striking that coach Tom Herman still hasn’t slammed the door on freshman Sam Ehlinger.
“As of today, Shane’s starting,” Herman said. “Now does that guarantee that he’ll start against Maryland? No. He’ll take the bulk of the one’s reps, but if he doesn’t take advantage of them and Sam plays better than him, then that will change.
“Sam’s playing good, and Shane is, too. It’s a good battle, but you can tell Shane’s played 12 games of college football.”
The perils of opting for Ehlinger over the more experienced candidate were made clear in the team’s Orange-White spring scrimmage.
Buechele shredded the defense for 369 yards and connected with rising sophomore wide receiver Collin Johnson on two touchdowns. The freshman from Austin Westlake completed just 32 percent of his passes for 148 yards and one score.
Still, that performance didn’t do much to diminish Herman’s fascination with Ehlinger. After the game, he let everyone know this quarterback competition was still in its nascent stages.
“As far as Shane being the starter, no way,” Herman said April 15. “I think a healthy fear of losing your job is just that — healthy.”
If Buechele didn’t initially consider Ehlinger a threat, that statement likely did the trick.
In the months since the spring game, the 6-2, 230-pound freshman, who enrolled at UT in January, has closed the gap. He was named offensive MVP of the team’s second August scrimmage despite playing behind what Herman deemed a “makeshift offensive line.”
Ehlinger embodies everything Herman desires in a quarterback. He is fiery, assertive and supremely confident, and he desperately wants to open the season as Herman’s handpicked starter.
For his part, Buechele has made too many mistakes to put down the challenger for good.
“It’s a much more complex offense than what (Buechele) is used to,” Herman said last week. “So I think at times — forget is not the right word — but he reverts back to just, ‘take the snap and throw it to who I think is going to be open on this play.’ And that’s not always the case.
“You’ve got to read defenses, you’ve got to adjust protections, you’ve got to put people in motion. You’ve got to do a lot of things in our offense. He’s getting there. I’m confident that in the next 16 days that he can get there, especially when you start dialing into a game plan.”
Buechele has addressed at least one major issue in his game. Slowly, he has begun to break free of his shell, peeling away that quiet casing one small piece at a time.
“I heard him scream, which was really cool,” Herman said after the first fall scrimmage. “In enjoyment and in disapproval. Hearing his voice is really cool. Even the players kind of told him, ‘Hey, your voice is really powerful.’ It can have a dramatic effect on the way that we respond. Whether it’s to success or to failure.”