Jimbo Fisher says there 'isn't any doubt' lack of continuity hurting offensive line

Texas A&M has now lost three straight games for the first time in the Jimbo Fisher era and while the Aggies will head home after a three-game road swing, the task of bouncing back will not be easy. There’s been virtually no continuity on the offensive line this year.

Fisher confirmed Monday three offensive linemen are out for the year now.

On Saturday in a 30-24 loss to South Carolina, Texas A&M started its fifth different combination up front on the offensive line. And while Fisher was pleased with how both of his quarterbacks played, he admitted Monday the lack of continuity on the offensive line has been a killer.

“Oh I don’t think there’s any doubt about that,” Fisher said. “It’s not trying to make an excuse, but I mean you’re talking about calls, you’re talking about chemistry, you’re talking about how sometimes when we double-team that guy likes to come this way. Sometimes you get a new guy, he likes to come down harder, so I come a little shorter.

“All those nuances that create the inches are definitely an issue when you’re constantly changing that. Then how they block movements and also communication.”

Texas A&M played without all three of the offensive linemen now ruled out for the year — Bryce Foster, Akinola Ogunbiyi and Jordan Spasojevic-Moko — against South Carolina, but the new group is still trying to gel.

There’s a lot that goes into that.

“If you’re like a guy that you’re beside that you’ve worked beside all the time, sometimes you can just, as I say, you don’t have to say anything, you can give an eye wink or a nod or he look at him and he’ll look at you and you kind of see it at the same time and like, ‘I got it,'” Fisher explained.

“You know what I mean? When you’re seeing a blitz or a twist, I think all those little things really matter when it comes into that. But that’s the hand we’re dealt and we’ve got to deal with it.”

Haynes King will be back behind shuffled offensive line

The good news for the Aggies is that despite the challenges up front, an injury to starting quarterback Haynes King against the Gamecocks didn’t prove to be serious.

King is expected to play this weekend against No. 15 Ole Miss.

He left the game in the fourth quarter against South Carolina with an injury, clearing the way for third-string quarterback Conner Weigman to play. Though the Aggies cut into the Gamecocks’ lead, they weren’t able to punch through enough for the win.

King and the Aggies will hope to reverse the trend Saturday against the Rebels in a game that kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET in College Station, Texas, with a broadcast on the SEC Network.