Bright Future: Sam Ehlinger in 2015
[caption id="attachment_27363" align="alignleft" width="300"]
Sam Ehlinger. (courtesy of Westlake ISD)[/caption]
By: Ian Boyd and Joe Cook
I haven't been able to watch the Championship game, just highlights, but I've been trying to find as much as I can of Ehlinger's performance in that game as well as what he's been doing throughout the playoffs. Here's what I've noticed about our near-champion, junior recruit.
Junior year stats:
Passing: 227-363, 3614 yards, 9.96 ypa, 50 TDs, 5 INTs
Rushing: 225 carries, 1278 yards, 5.7 ypc, 20 TDs
Ehlinger the runner
At 6-foot-2, 205, with great vision and short-area quickness, Ehlinger is built for dominating in the run game at the high school level. You can see from his numbers that he was the workhorse back for Westlake and the next two highest carry totals for the team were 68 carries and 62 carries for a pair of RBs.
The Westlake run game this year was largely built off power-read and what I call "inverted zone read" in which the RB takes the wider path and the QB runs downhill behind the zone combo blocks. That's right, Ehlinger was the "between the tackles" back for Westlake and I tend to think that suits his running style pretty well.
He's very sudden and mobile with his initial steps and can get wide or make a cut with real power and quickness but his top speed isn't great. IB film 40 score of about 4.8.
Translating his running ability to the college level is kinda tricky. The big question is whether he can win the edge on zone read and how much bigger and thicker he gets as a 20 year old. I'd venture a guess that he'll probably maintain his current athleticism at 220 or so in college. He'll probably continue to be a good inside runner in college but not a guy that can beat a scraping B12 LB or down safety on zone read.
Obviously he shouldn't be getting 200+ carries or going for 1k yards in college, but he could absolutely be a guy like Colt who gets a few carries per game and who racks up TDs on short-yardage or goal-line carries. I know it's risky health-wise but he's a big kid, he's great at it, and he has great vision and a superior arm angle for the POP pass that makes it hard for LBs to come downhill on him.
I think this play captures a great deal of who Ehlinger is as a runner:
It's a power-read run, Ehlinger keeps it and takes it behind the pulling guard and makes a nice, darting cut in the hole to pull away from a diving LB and to beat the FS coming downhill.
Excellent quickness in the hole, great power to run through, and then a lack of pullaway speed to finish with a TD.
Here's inverted zone read:
He reads a linebacker to see if he fills the cutback lane or chases the RB wide, the LB chooses the latter andEhlinger makes him pay.
Ehlinger the passer
Ehlinger has fantastic mechanics and throws with a high release with the ball coming down on his targets, kindalike a Dirk Nowitzki jumper.
He's fantastic throwing the deep fade, which should surely be melting the heart of Sterlin Gilbert, but he also seems to see the field and understand concepts much better than, say, anyone on campus at Texas right now.
Here's an example I really like that came against Allen on a zero-blitz from the Eagles:
Ehlinger sees the blitz coming and immediately looks to throw the deep fade to the boundary-side receiver, but the WR can't get a clean release and has to run a comeback. Screw that.
But he's also picked up that while Allen rotated to show a single-high, five-man pressure it actually rotated just before the snap into a zero-high, six-man pressure. He hitches and delivers a strike to the dig route on a "levels" concept that Westlake is running to the field.
His pressure is breaking down and the pocket is collapsing on him even as he throws but he stands in to deliver a strike to his WR in stride that results in a TD.
Three things worth noting. One, Texas hasn't had a QB nail the dig route on a levels concept since I joined Inside Texas. Second, Texas hasn't had a QB that could read all that and deliver such a throw from the pocket in that time either.
Finally, he gets from one side of the field to the other in his progression process. Me gusta.
Summary
Ehlinger clearly trusts his legs to either buy him time or to create opportunities, but he's also very confident in his own vision and ability to deliver the ball through the air.
The only guess I can venture as to why he isn't rated higher is because he's considered a "dual-threat" for how much he runs the ball but he's clearly not a guy that will run for much yardage in college save perhaps for in a TimTebow-like capacity. His abilities in the pocket though seem criminally underrated in my opinion considering he's reading the field in a spread, punishing blitzes, and throwing option routes.
Can't wait to see what he does as a senior. If Westlake can find him a D1 level RB or WR it's all over. - Ian Boyd
[caption id="attachment_27778" align="alignright" width="300"]
Sam Ehlinger. (Will Gallagher/IT)[/caption]
First, what a fantastic football game. Plenty of exciting plays on both sides throughout the game, including a long turnover return for a score by each team. North Shore's offense was similar to the second half offense that Texas saw from the Baylor Bears in their late season matchup. Power running was the name of the game for the Mustangs, as their rushing attack proved to be enough to win 21-14 in overtime over the Westlake Chaps.
As far as Texas pledge Sam Ehlinger, he's going to make good use of the cold bath today. He received most of the Westlake carries today, and had to deal with pressure most of the day.
About that pressure: North Shore stayed in man for much of the night, leaving their DBs on islands. This might lead you to believe that Ehlinger would have plenty of time to put the ball on target to his receivers. This was not the case. Ehlinger's pocket collapsed at a high rate throughout the evening, forcing him to try and make plays with his feet or make throws on the run. He was able to make a few spectacular plays, including a long pass in overtime that required him to evade multiple mustang defenders and make a pass to his receiver with pinpoint accuracy.
Make no mistake, Westlake was an outstanding team and a lot of it had to do with their play at QB. He put up huge numbers and led his team on a deep run. His accuracy on the run is great, but it's hard to be accurate consistently when you're constantly on the run. Looking at my notes on the game, I wrote down "hard to make passes when your line is constantly putting you in pressure." Couple that pressure with a fumble by Ehlinger returned for a touchdown, and that defense was too much for the Chaps.
Overall, if you're looking to make a judgement on Sam from today's play, you'll likely think he is serviceable at best. One of the best defenses, in fact the state champion defense, had to game plan for one person. He's a solid player who had a lot of responsibility placed on his shoulders. He's going to have another year to get back to the UIL finals before he moves down the road to campus. - Joe Cook
Sam Ehlinger. (courtesy of Westlake ISD)[/caption]
By: Ian Boyd and Joe Cook
I haven't been able to watch the Championship game, just highlights, but I've been trying to find as much as I can of Ehlinger's performance in that game as well as what he's been doing throughout the playoffs. Here's what I've noticed about our near-champion, junior recruit.
Junior year stats:
Passing: 227-363, 3614 yards, 9.96 ypa, 50 TDs, 5 INTs
Rushing: 225 carries, 1278 yards, 5.7 ypc, 20 TDs
Ehlinger the runner
At 6-foot-2, 205, with great vision and short-area quickness, Ehlinger is built for dominating in the run game at the high school level. You can see from his numbers that he was the workhorse back for Westlake and the next two highest carry totals for the team were 68 carries and 62 carries for a pair of RBs.
The Westlake run game this year was largely built off power-read and what I call "inverted zone read" in which the RB takes the wider path and the QB runs downhill behind the zone combo blocks. That's right, Ehlinger was the "between the tackles" back for Westlake and I tend to think that suits his running style pretty well.
He's very sudden and mobile with his initial steps and can get wide or make a cut with real power and quickness but his top speed isn't great. IB film 40 score of about 4.8.
Translating his running ability to the college level is kinda tricky. The big question is whether he can win the edge on zone read and how much bigger and thicker he gets as a 20 year old. I'd venture a guess that he'll probably maintain his current athleticism at 220 or so in college. He'll probably continue to be a good inside runner in college but not a guy that can beat a scraping B12 LB or down safety on zone read.
Obviously he shouldn't be getting 200+ carries or going for 1k yards in college, but he could absolutely be a guy like Colt who gets a few carries per game and who racks up TDs on short-yardage or goal-line carries. I know it's risky health-wise but he's a big kid, he's great at it, and he has great vision and a superior arm angle for the POP pass that makes it hard for LBs to come downhill on him.
I think this play captures a great deal of who Ehlinger is as a runner:
It's a power-read run, Ehlinger keeps it and takes it behind the pulling guard and makes a nice, darting cut in the hole to pull away from a diving LB and to beat the FS coming downhill.
Excellent quickness in the hole, great power to run through, and then a lack of pullaway speed to finish with a TD.
Here's inverted zone read:
He reads a linebacker to see if he fills the cutback lane or chases the RB wide, the LB chooses the latter andEhlinger makes him pay.
Ehlinger the passer
Ehlinger has fantastic mechanics and throws with a high release with the ball coming down on his targets, kindalike a Dirk Nowitzki jumper.
He's fantastic throwing the deep fade, which should surely be melting the heart of Sterlin Gilbert, but he also seems to see the field and understand concepts much better than, say, anyone on campus at Texas right now.
Here's an example I really like that came against Allen on a zero-blitz from the Eagles:
Ehlinger sees the blitz coming and immediately looks to throw the deep fade to the boundary-side receiver, but the WR can't get a clean release and has to run a comeback. Screw that.
But he's also picked up that while Allen rotated to show a single-high, five-man pressure it actually rotated just before the snap into a zero-high, six-man pressure. He hitches and delivers a strike to the dig route on a "levels" concept that Westlake is running to the field.
His pressure is breaking down and the pocket is collapsing on him even as he throws but he stands in to deliver a strike to his WR in stride that results in a TD.
Three things worth noting. One, Texas hasn't had a QB nail the dig route on a levels concept since I joined Inside Texas. Second, Texas hasn't had a QB that could read all that and deliver such a throw from the pocket in that time either.
Finally, he gets from one side of the field to the other in his progression process. Me gusta.
Summary
Ehlinger clearly trusts his legs to either buy him time or to create opportunities, but he's also very confident in his own vision and ability to deliver the ball through the air.
The only guess I can venture as to why he isn't rated higher is because he's considered a "dual-threat" for how much he runs the ball but he's clearly not a guy that will run for much yardage in college save perhaps for in a TimTebow-like capacity. His abilities in the pocket though seem criminally underrated in my opinion considering he's reading the field in a spread, punishing blitzes, and throwing option routes.
Can't wait to see what he does as a senior. If Westlake can find him a D1 level RB or WR it's all over. - Ian Boyd
[caption id="attachment_27778" align="alignright" width="300"]
Sam Ehlinger. (Will Gallagher/IT)[/caption]
First, what a fantastic football game. Plenty of exciting plays on both sides throughout the game, including a long turnover return for a score by each team. North Shore's offense was similar to the second half offense that Texas saw from the Baylor Bears in their late season matchup. Power running was the name of the game for the Mustangs, as their rushing attack proved to be enough to win 21-14 in overtime over the Westlake Chaps.
As far as Texas pledge Sam Ehlinger, he's going to make good use of the cold bath today. He received most of the Westlake carries today, and had to deal with pressure most of the day.
About that pressure: North Shore stayed in man for much of the night, leaving their DBs on islands. This might lead you to believe that Ehlinger would have plenty of time to put the ball on target to his receivers. This was not the case. Ehlinger's pocket collapsed at a high rate throughout the evening, forcing him to try and make plays with his feet or make throws on the run. He was able to make a few spectacular plays, including a long pass in overtime that required him to evade multiple mustang defenders and make a pass to his receiver with pinpoint accuracy.
Make no mistake, Westlake was an outstanding team and a lot of it had to do with their play at QB. He put up huge numbers and led his team on a deep run. His accuracy on the run is great, but it's hard to be accurate consistently when you're constantly on the run. Looking at my notes on the game, I wrote down "hard to make passes when your line is constantly putting you in pressure." Couple that pressure with a fumble by Ehlinger returned for a touchdown, and that defense was too much for the Chaps.
Overall, if you're looking to make a judgement on Sam from today's play, you'll likely think he is serviceable at best. One of the best defenses, in fact the state champion defense, had to game plan for one person. He's a solid player who had a lot of responsibility placed on his shoulders. He's going to have another year to get back to the UIL finals before he moves down the road to campus. - Joe Cook
