Texas Football: Sam Ehlinger Will Return for Senior Season

The Texas quarterback made it official on Twitter on Monday evening

While most expected the news, Texas fans still had reason to celebrate the return of Sam Ehlinger to the Forty Acres for his senior season. 

Between the loaded 2020 quarterback class and the Westlake High School product's lifelong fandom of the university, it seemed highly unlikely Ehlinger would go pro after his junior year, but Ehlinger did send off to the league for his draft grade as a matter of due diligence. 

"Oh, absolutely (I think he's coming back)," Texas head coach Tom Herman said before the Alamo Bowl. "He’s already gotten those results back, yeah. But I do think he’s got a tremendous future at the next level. Again, I’ll say it as many times as I need to: he sees the game as good as any I’ve coached. Having coached some really good quarterbacks in my day, that’s certainly no slight on them, it’s a testimony to him and his intelligence, his toughness. That’s going to go a long way at the next level."

Ehlinger himself heavily hinted at a return less than an hour after the Longhorns' 38-10 win over Utah. 

Dear Longhorn Nation... pic.twitter.com/D20n5TE883

— Sam Ehlinger (@sehlinger3) January 7, 2020

"I think when we are healthy and having fun and playing for each other, and playing mistake-free, we’re really, really hard to beat," Ehlinger said. "I’m very optimistic about the guys coming back. There’s a lot of young guys that have a lot of experience and are really, really good football players, so I’m very optimistic."

Ehlinger will enter the 2019 season as the most experienced Big 12 quarterback and among the most seasoned in the country.