AUSTIN, Texas — LSU linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson raised a few eyebrows last weekend when he was asked about playing against Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger in high school.
“I don’t find him too much of a threat,” Chaisson said. “That’s not a shot at him. … He uses his legs more than his arms”
On Saturday night, Ehlinger passed for a career-high 401 yards in the Tigers’ 45-38 victory over the Longhorns, the sixth most in a game in Texas history. In doing so, he became the first quarterback to eclipse 400 passing yards against LSU since Geno Smith had 463 in 2011.
After the game, Chaisson gave the quarterback his due.
“I made a comment that the quarterback couldn’t beat us throwing,” he said. “He proved me wrong today. I never thought Sam was a bad quarterback. I thought he was a better runner than passer and he showed different today with 400-something yards passing.”
LSU coach Ed Orgeron agreed.
“Phenomenal player. Better than we thought he was,” Orgeron said. “I thought he was a good player going in. This guy is a phenomenal player. He wanted to take the game on his back, and he practically did.”
Texas senior wide receiver Devin Duvernay had career highs with 12 catches for 154 yards and two touchdowns, and sophomore Brennan Eagles added five catches for 116 yards, also both career highs.
Orgeron said he was concerned about the defense’s performance after giving up 530 yards of total offense, including a 19-play, 86-yard drive by Texas in the third quarter.
“We’ve got to get it fixed,” he said. “We’re not going to win a whole bunch of games giving up 38 points per game.”