Sam Pittman offers thoughts on Texas A&M quarterback Max Johnson

Texas A&M quarterback Max Johnson didn’t win the starting job for the Aggies in the offseason but he has proved valuable over the first month of the season. When starter Conner Weigman went down in the second quarter of Saturday’s 27-10 win over Auburn, Johnson entered and play very well.

Weigman is day-to-day with an ankle injury, which means Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman and his Razorbacks may see Johnson start this Saturday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The fourth-year head coach said during his Monday press conference the left-handed Johnson can play and appears to have the respect of his teammates.

“He’s a really good player,” Pittman said. “They’ve obviously done a nice job with being able to keep him when he wasn’t named the starter. I think in his mind, it looks to me like, he believes he’s a starter and the kids, more importantly, around him believe in him. Obviously got a lot of speed. He’s fast. Great movement thrower. They run a lot of nakeds trying to move the pocket with him. He was very, very accurate and really gave the team a spark last week watching the game.”

Johnson finished with 123 yards passing and two touchdowns on 7 of 11 throwing the football in the victory over the Tigers. He also added four carries for 15 yards.

He had entered with the Aggies up just 6-0 with Auburn adding a field goal before the end of the half. But Johnson and the Texas A&M offense came out strong in the second half with three touchdowns, including two from Johnson in the third quarter.

The first was a 22-yard touchdown completion to his younger brother and tight end Jake Johnson. The second was a 37-yard touchdown pass to Evan Stewart.

Aggies head coach Jimbo Fisher said during the offseason that having two capable quarterbacks like Max Johnson and Weigman is a great thing for a team to have.

“Having two guys that you know can win, can win at a high level, and win a championship for you, in my opinion, and can play at those levels? It makes you sleep well at night,” Fisher said.

Johnson has plenty of experience in his career, starting with his two years at LSU and the past two years at Texas A&M. He has started 17 games over the past four seasons, including 12 games during the 2021 LSU season. The southpaw was 6-6 with 2,814 yards, 27 touchdowns and six picks that campaign.

He then entered the transfer portal and ended up at Texas A&M, where he started three games last season before suffering a season-ending injury.