Jimbo Fisher breaks down play of Haynes King, starting to get better film on Conner Weigman

Texas A&M has had a non-stop quarterback carousel so far in the 2022 season with no indications it’ll stop spinning any time soon. After losing his starting job after the first two games of the season, Haynes King returned following a Max Johnson injury and has done his best to stabilize the Aggies.

Coach Jimbo Fisher defended his play in a 30-24 loss to South Carolina on Monday, a loss in which King was knocked from the game in the fourth quarter due to an injury.

“I’m going to tell you what, you go back and watch Haynes play, Haynes played a very, very good football game,” Fisher said.

King finished the game 17-of-32 passing for 178 yards, throwing one touchdown and one interception. He also added three carries for 19 yards.

The Aggies battled but were ultimately unable to overcome the 10-point lead the Gamecocks established late in the third quarter, eventually falling 30-24. King’s injury isn’t expected to sideline him further, with Fisher saying Monday King should play this weekend against No. 15 Ole Miss.

“Lot of good throws, lot of good punt, put us in a great position, pulled, had good runs, scrambled, didn’t get some pressure on third down, made some good third-down throws, had some really nice drives,” Fisher said. “Played a very, very, very solid football game. And some really big-time plays.”

Jimbo Fisher pleased with Haynes King, starting to get more film on Conner Weigman

While King has run the offense since Johnson suffered a broken bone in his hand against Mississippi State on Oct. 1, he’s not the only quarterback the Aggies coach has gotten a look at.

Following King’s injury against South Carolina, Texas A&M turned to freshman Conner Weigman. Weigman went 8-of-15 passing for 91 yards against the Gamecocks while also adding one run for two yards.

“I thought Connor went in, did a really nice job,” Fisher said. “Somebody asked me was he being not prepared the other day. He was prepared because he’s worked his butt off every week. And he understands what we’re doing.”

That was Fisher’s biggest takeaway from Weigman’s performance so far. He wasn’t overwhelmed by the moment.

“What we’re doing, it’s a couple throws, maybe a read here and there,” Fisher said. “If he had some more time on a couple things he could have made it, but his eyes were good, he got the ball out, he saw the field and could come back and regurgitate to you on the sideline what he saw, why he saw it, what happened. And it was exactly what you saw on film when you graded the film.

“I mean, couple things you’d like to have back, a read here or two just as he saw. But I thought he played really well. I did.”