Sterns, Ehlinger honored following Horns ‘W’
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AUSTIN, Texas — Only four games into his Longhorns career, true freshman safety Caden Sterns was named Big 12 Conference Newcomer of the Week after his all-around amazing performance in the 31-16 win over TCU on Saturday.
Furthermore, sophomore quarterback Sam Ehlinger was selected as one of eight honorees for the Davey O'Brien Award's "Great 8" list for Week 4 after throwing for 255 yards and two touchdowns while adding a rushing score as well.
Caden Came To Play
The standout Sterns was extremely worthy of the award, totaling five tackles and two interceptions as the Texas defense keyed the big win. Sterns second pick came just after Texas took a 17-16 lead, and solidified the Horns standing as the better team. He picked off a Shawn Robinson pass and returned it 33 yards to the TCU 2, setting up an Ehlinger keeper for a touchdown to extend the Longhorns' lead to 24-16 at the end of the third quarter. [place_ad_1]
The first interception came on a TCU trick play. Sterns read the pass and hoped out in front of a receiver streaking down the sideline for what could have been a touchdown to secure a Texas interception. Sterns' three picks through four games ties him with Kyle Richardson (1994) for the third-most by a true freshman in school history. Quandre Diggs (2011) and Chris Carter (1993) both had four interceptions as true freshmen.
The Cibolo native He is the first true freshman since DeShon Elliott (2015) with two picks in a game, and only the third in school history (also Chris Carter vs. SMU, 1993).
Ehlinger Among Longhorn Legends
For a third straight game, Ehlinger notched two passing and one rushing touchdown, becoming the first Longhorn quarterback since Colt McCoy (2008) to reach that achievement.
The Austinite just became the first Texas quarterback in school history to throw for at least 200 yards and two touchdowns through the first four games of a season. And it’s just the fifth time in Longhorns history a QB has notched four consecutive games of 200 yards passing to start a season, alongside Longhorn Legends Colt McCoy (2007, '09), Major Applewhite (1999) and Peter Gardere (1992).
Joining Ehlinger on the honoree list are eight honorees are: Purdue's David Blough, Ian Book of Notre Dame, Texas Tech's Alan Bowman, K.J. Costello of Stanford, Mitchell Guadagni of Toledo, Old Dominion's Blake LaRussa and Tua Tagovailoa of Alabama.
Eighty years ago, O'Brien, who wore No. 8 as a star quarterback for TCU, became the first player ever to win the Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award and Walter Camp Award in the same year (1938). He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1955.
O'Brien was drafted fourth overall in the 1939 NFL Draft and earned Pro Bowl honors in his rookie season after setting a National Football League record for season passing yardage. The NFL's highest-paid player retired after the 1940 season to become an FBI agent.
The Davey O'Brien Foundation was created in 1977, and the National Quarterback Award, the oldest and most prestigious college quarterback award, was first issued in 1981. The Davey O'Brien Fan Vote, now in its 12th year, gives fans a chance to play a role in determining the award winner by voting daily at VoteOBrien.org.
With its first three-game winning streak since 2014, Texas hit the road this weekend to take on Kansas State in Manhattan, which is always hostile-for-Texas territory.
Kickoff from Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium is set for 2:30 pm on FS1.
