AUSTIN — Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger walks out onto the field at the historic Darrell K Royal Stadium as we begin our photoshoot for the cover of Dave Campbell’s Texas Football magazine and looks to the heavens.

As one of a handful of people to ever appear on the cover of this magazine multiple times, Ehlinger knows the drill. He sits in a chair at the 50-yard line, stands up, grabs a football, holds a Longhorns helmet, makes sure the Longhorns logo at midfield is pointing the right direction, that the right details in the stadium can be seen.

He catches my eyes looking around the ninth-largest stadium in the world, and points to the grandstands where decals commemorate claimed national championships in ’63, ’69, ’70 and ’05, along with Big 12 championships in ’96, ’05 and ’09.

“Hey, you looking up where they’re going to put the numbers after next season?” Ehlinger asks playfully with a grin

Ehlinger is joking in this moment, but the pressure is real. After leading Texas to its first 10-win season in nearly a decade and a Sugar Bowl victory over Georgia, Ehlinger has become a household name in the college football world. He’s now a Heisman candidate and poised to lead the Longhorns to their first top 10 preseason ranking since 2010.

He brushes all of it off — the pressure, the expectations, the hype — as just part of the job. It doesn’t concern him. The only guarantee? When you’re the quarterback at the University of Texas, people are going to talk about you. Growing up in Austin, Sam Ehlinger spent his whole life waiting for this opportunity. No one takes the job more seriously.

“When there’s any disrespect towards Texas, I take it personally because it’s always been within me,” Ehlinger said. “I want the university to be respected and in the best position possible. I think it just has to do with the love I have growing up around it and growing up in Austin.”