ARLINGTON -- Moments after Texas coach Tom Herman finished his press conference at Big 12 media day, reporters and TV hosts scurried from the main stage towards the breakouts.

The scrum around Herman – or any coach at Texas – is just a little different than any other program at media days. Coaches are generally the stars of college football, anyway. But this year, the podium four spots to the right was overrun with TV cameras more than an hour before interviews started. 

Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger’s life has changed a lot over the past two years, especially after a star-studded sophomore season where he led Texas to the Big 12 title game. He’s the first Texas player since Colt McCoy to earn Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year. 

“It’s unreal, I don’t deserve that,” Ehlinger said. “[Colt McCoy] obviously did incredible things here, and I haven’t done close to what he’s done. I’m extremely blessed to be in this situation, but I haven’t done anything to be mentioned close to his name.” 

On the other end, Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw said Ehlinger “ain’t that good.” Lake Travis Heisman winner Baker Mayfield took multiple jabs, pointing out that “Ehlinger couldn’t beat Lake Travis, so I don’t really care [about] his opinion on winning,” and that he and Ehlinger plain don’t like each other. 

“I don’t really pay attention to it to tell you the truth,” Ehlinger said to a massive gaggle of reporters.

But during his press conference, Herman admitted that it’s hard to completely ignore all of it.

“I do know, our guys file certain things away,” Herman said. “We had a bowl game recently where the other team was very disrespectful and that gave us motivation leading up to the bowl game. Sam loves to play with a chip on his shoulder and I’m sure he will use this to crack it up a notch.”

It’s easy to see why Ehlinger is such a polarizing personality. He plays the part of Texas quarterback perfectly, mixing a humble demeanor with a cool confidence that drives opponents crazy. After beating Georgia for Texas’ first major bowl game in a decade, Ehlinger got on the mic and exclaimed “we’re baaaaaaack.” 

But clearly, nothing miffs opposing fans more than what Ehlinger has been able to do on the field the past two years. There’s no comparison to Colt, of course, but Ehlinger has been a revelation at Texas in his own right. 

He became the seventh player since 2000 to throw for 25 touchdowns and rush for 15. All of the others went on to win the Heisman Trophy. Texas won 10 games last season, and the Longhorns were picked No. 2 in the preseason poll, with a handful of first place votes. 

Ehlinger is also the first Texas player in nine years to land the cover of Dave Campbell’s Texas Football (have you bought your copy yet? Just checking). 

“It’s an absolute blessing, incredible,” Ehlinger said. “It’s such a prestigious magazine and such a prestigious tradition. It’s the Bible of Texas football and to have a chance to be on the cover is amazing. Everyone who was involved with that whole process was awesome and I really enjoyed all of it. 

“Every year, I checked out what was going on and just all the high school everything. I probably read it from page one until the end.”

Herman joked with me during our interview for the magazine that Texas probably has the world record for most media outlets covering the program. Still, it’s been a decade since reporters fell over themselves and stood on tables just to catch a glimpse of a player in a burnt orange polo at media days. Don’t expect it to stop anytime soon. 

“He earned every bit of that,” All-Big 12 center Zach Shackelford said. “He’s doing a great job.”