Jimbo Fisher reveals Texas A&M's injuries for spring football

As spring practice gets underway, Texas A&M is going to be a bit shorthanded. Jimbo Fisher shared multiple injury updates in his opening press conference, and he said some of them could be back to full strength after the spring.

“I have a few guys that will be out for spring that will be back by, say, May or June will back to go,” Fisher said. “Hunter Erb. Of course, Bryce [Foster] because of his surgery and his throwing. Matthew Wykoff, Trey Zuhn, Max Wright and Deuce Harmon. Deuce will be out just a little bit, but he’ll be getting back into the mix, as will Jaden Platt. Jaden Platt had a surgery before he came that he’s still just getting over. He’ll start off slow and get back, but he should be with us before the spring is over.”

Foster is coming off knee surgery, but is also a member of the track team as a thrower. That’s why Fisher said he won’t be available for spring ball.

Texas A&M is gearing up for an intriguing 2023 season after a rough go a year ago. The Aggies finished 5-7 to miss out on a bowl game despite coming in at No. 6 in the preseason AP Top 25 and bringing in the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation. That led Fisher to make some changes this offseason, notably hiring former Missouri State head coach Bobby Petrino as offensive coordinator.

Petrino is no stranger to the SEC, coaching at Arkansas from 2008-11 and working as the offensive coordinator at Auburn in 2002. His hiring is an interesting one, and the question is who’ll call plays. Fisher has traditionally been the play-caller in College Station, but that could be changing this year.

When asked who’ll call the plays on offense, Fisher gave an interesting answer.

“We’ll go through that as we go,” Fisher said. “Plan on him making calls, plan on him calling plays. I have no problem with that at all.”

However, Fisher also explained his reasons for hiring Petrino and defended the hire given their relationship. That familiarity played a key role in Fisher’s decision to bring the one-time rival aboard.

“That was a guy we wanted to hire, a guy I’ve known. I’ve known him a long time,” Fisher said. “We have great respect for each other. When we talked and after meeting with him, we thought it would be a very good fit with what we’re trying to do and the things that we believe in with what goes on.”