Scouting goes far beyond the so-called “measurables.” Anyone can check a roster to find out a player’s height and weight, or grab a stat sheet to review a player’s on-field performance.
But if that were all it took, anyone could be a scout, and teams would simply acquire the tallest, heaviest linemen and the running backs and receivers with the fastest times in the 40-yard dash.
His accomplishments as the Longhorns’ quarterback are many: in 46 career games at UT, he completed 923 of 1,476 passes (62.5 percent) for 11,436 yards, 94 touchdowns and 27 interceptions — numbers that would make almost any college quarterback proud. Beloved by fans, coaches and teammates, he was drafted in the sixth round of the NFL Draft — 218thoverall — by the Indianapolis Colts.
Like many players, especially those not taken at the top of the draft, Ehlinger drew mixed reviews by pundits in their pre-draft evaluations. So what did the Colts see that convinced them to draft him to compete for the role as Carson Wentz’s backup?[s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level3)]
For all of his honors, Ehlinger had his skeptics before the draft.
But he has his critics: when the NFL measured him, former Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger mysteriously shrunk, from the 6-3 and 225 pounds listed on the school’s roster to 6-1 and 220 pounds, so while he is athletic and sturdy, he’s not quite as hefty as was suggested during his college career … and now the opponents he sees will be bigger and faster. Scouts look constantly for the 6-5, 230-pound prototypical passers, but Ehlinger’s height doesn’t preclude him from succeeding at the professional level. After all, Seattle’s Russell Wilson is 5-11, and just-retired New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees — like Ehlinger, a graduate of Westlake High School in Austin — stands an even 6 feet.
Questions were raised about his arm strength and release, but those were balanced by four years of playing experience and a level of production that helped him end his career as one of the most prolific passers in program history. In addition, he is revered for his leadership, toughness, intelligence and work ethic.
So which is he?
According to everything coming out of Indianapolis, the Colts see the gritty field general more than anything else.
“This is a Horseshoe guy,” said Anthony Coughlan, Southwest Area Scout for the Colts. “This is a no-brainer.”
“When you watch him play, you sit down next to him, you feel it: his football knowledge is off the charts,” Indianapolis Assistant General Manager Ed Dodds said. “I can’t say enough about the guy. He’s got everything you want.”
Where some saw modest arm strength, the Colts saw a poised, mature leader. Where others saw a perhaps-mechanical release, his new team saw a fierce competitor who has shown for years that he will do anything and everything to will his team to victory.
Keep in mind, Indianapolis didn’t draft him to come in and take the reins of the Colts’ offense in 2021. The team sent the Philadelphia Eagles a 2021 third-round draft pick and a conditional second-round 2022 draft pick for Wentz; barring an injury, he’s the guy under center in Indianapolis, giving some combination of Ehlinger, second-year backup Jacob Eason and fellow rookie Jalen Morton time to learn from Wentz. Considering Morton signed as an undrafted free agent out of Prairie View A&M, it’s fair to suggest Ehlinger will be given every chance to claim at least the No. 3 quarterback job, if not challenge Eason for the backup role.
Based on Ehlinger’s intelligence and work ethic as much as his athletic ability, the Colts certainly sound optimistic that he is up to the task.
“Whatever his ceiling is,” Dodds said, “he’s going to reach it.”
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