Shane Buechele will probably be the starting quarterback when Texas opens its season against Maryland on Sept. 2. But it isn’t certain.
Buechele will be pushed by true freshman Sam Ehlinger, and new ‘Horns head coach Tom Herman will give Ehlinger plenty of time to do some pushing.
Texas opened fall camp Monday and Herman said he is in no immediate hurry to name a starter, and will wait two weeks before picking Buechele or Ehlinger. Once the page turns to start preparing for Maryland, then Herman will name a stater.
“The guy that’s the starter needs to take every rep with the (first team) as we start getting ready to win a game,” Herman told the Austin American-Statesman.
Buechele started all 12 games for the Longhorns in his true freshman season of 2016. He completed 236-of-391 passes (60.4 percent) for 2,958 yards (7.6 per attempt) with 21 touchdowns against 11 interceptions -- good for a 136.0 quarterback rating that placed him 51st nationally and fifth among all freshmen Buechele, as one would expect of a true freshman on a losing team, experienced moments of wild fluctuation throughout last season. He threw for 280 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Notre Dame and racked up 291 yards and a pair of scores on only 13 completions in a last-second victory over Baylor, but closed the year by completing 33-of-65 passes for 383 yards with one touchdown against four interceptions in losses to Kansas and TCU.
Ehlinger enrolled at Texas in January and competed in spring drills. A local product, Ehlinger led powerhouse Austin Westlake to a 23-6 mark while setting school records with 7,491 passing yards and 89 touchdowns while adding in 2,395 yards and 35 touchdowns.