Texas sophomore quarterback Sam Ehlinger shared a field with a Heisman candidate for the second time last Saturday. While the Longhorns came a play short of upsetting No. 13 West Virginia, Ehlinger once against outplayed a nationally-relevant quarterback.

In a 42-41 loss, Ehlinger completed 25-of-36 passes for 354 passing yards and three touchdowns. Those marks are the best of his career in regulation. He also added 52 rushing yards and another score against the Mountaineers.

His performance was slightly better than West Virginia Heisman candidate Will Grier. Grier posted 28-of-42 for 346 yards and three touchdowns. Ehlinger topped Grier in completion percentage, yards per attempt, passing yards and total touchdowns.

It was the second statement performance of the season for Ehlinger, a former Austin Westlake standout. In the Red River Showdown against Oklahoma, Ehlinger completed 24-of-35 passing for 314 yards and two touchdowns, and added another 72 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. It was the first five-touchdown game of his career. More importantly, it was more production than Sooners Heisman hopeful Kyler Murray.

The improvement that Ehlinger is showing in both the passing and running game has been critical to Texas’ success. Even after losing back-to-back games, the Longhorns sit at 6-3 with a legitimate shot at the Big 12 title. The Longhorns haven’t won even eight games since the 2013 season.

“Sam’s playing great right now,” Texas coach Tom Herman said. “I think the biggest thing where you saw the growth of sam is he trusts the offense. He’s throwing the ball on time now more than I’ve ever seen. He’s trusting himself, the receivers, the O-line and he’s aggressive. He’s not worried about making mistakes.”

Ehlinger flashed this ability as a freshman. He led the Longhorns to tight performances against USC, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. However, in each of those games, critical turnovers on Ehlinger’s part ended up costing the Longhorns significantly.

One year later, those miscues are gone. Since throwing a critical interception against Maryland in Week 1, Ehlinger has been completely clean. His 16-to-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio ranks No. 3 in the sport. The only players who rank ahead? Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (27/1) and North Texas quarterback Mason Fine (21/1).

“It’s a [testament] to how well the coaches are doing in preparing me week in and week out for what defenses I’m going to see and getting the ball out on time with specific pass concepts,” Ehlinger said. “It’s something that we all knew I was capable of, just with the game slowing down, creating more experience and being more comfortable with the offense.”

Even in a loss, his full ability was on display in the second half against West Virginia. After getting called short of the first down line because of a lost helmet on the first drive, Ehlinger led three straight scoring drives of at least 49 yards. It culminated with a beautiful 48-yard touchdown throw to Devin Duvernay that seemed to clinch the game.

Through nine games, including one that he departed in the first quarter with a shoulder injury, Ehlinger is on pace for strong numbers. He’s completed 64.2 percent of his passes for 2,171 yards, 16 touchdowns and two interceptions. Ehlinger has also rushed for 329 yards and nine touchdowns.

Perhaps most impressively, Ehlinger has finished with more total touchdowns than the other team’s quarterback in six of eight full starts this season. The only exceptions were Oklahoma, where he tied Murray, and Oklahoma State, where he still finished with four scores. 

Since Colt McCoy left Texas following the 2009 season, the Longhorns have experienced a revolving door under center. Between 2004 and 2009, only two quarterbacks started at Texas: Vince Young and McCoy. In the seven following years, six different quarterbacks started: Garrett Gilbert, David Ash, Case McCoy, Tyrone Swoopes, Jerrod Heard and Shane Buechele.

The hometown kid, Ehlinger, seems ready to put an end to that cycle.

Texas has three other talented quarterbacks in the room. Buechele nearly threw for 3,000 yards as a freshman. Casey Thompson and Cameron Rising are also blue-chip recruits who will push for playing time as they get older.

“That’s a very, very talented room that’s going to make for some interesting competition here as we move forward in our program’s development,” Herman said after the West Virginia game.

Texas football will try and snap its two-game losing streak with a road matchup against Texas Tech at 6:30 p.m. at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock. The game will be broadcast live on Fox. Click here to buy tickets to the game.