Why Texas A&M has the most interesting quarterback battle in the country this offseason

There are marquee quarterback battles at Texas, Michigan, Florida, LSU and elsewhere this offseason, but none match the intrigue — or potential stakes — of the quarterback competition unfolding down in College Station at Texas A&M. 

Haynes King vs. Max Johnson vs. Conner Weigman. 

It’s the former incumbent starter returning from injury vs. the veteran from LSU who beat the Aggies in College Station last season vs. the local phenom. 

All three quarterbacks are different stylistically, but all offer real upside and have the tools to take Texas A&M to a level it hasn’t seen in decades. 

Let’s not forget: Jimbo Fisher has yet to win 10 games with the Aggies. Yes, the former national champion coach at Florida State became the first former Nick Saban assistant to beat his mentor, but outside of an upset over then-No. 1 Alabama, Texas A&M mostly laid in egg in 2021. 

It finished 8-4, with losses to Arkansas, Mississippi State, Ole Miss and an LSU team with an already-fired head coach. In four seasons under Fisher, the Aggies are averaging 3.5 losses per year. 

That ain’t what $100 million is supposed to buy. 

But much of the “blame” for A&M’s struggles last fall was centered around the injury to King, who broke his ankle in Week 2, and the inconsistent play of backup Zach Calzada.  Well, there are no more excuses for 2022. 

Fisher & Co., have built a monster roster, signing perhaps the greatest recruiting class of all-time last cycle including nine five-stars, per On3. They just added another stud defensive lineman with the recent addition of Lebbeus LT Overton, but the most important signee was Houston native Conner Weigman. 

With the law firm of King, Johnson and Weigman, Fisher has legit options now, and if he gets the quarterback position right this fall, then the Aggies are legitimate College Football Playoff contenders and could push Alabama for the top spot in the SEC West. 

Fisher offered hilarious diatribes this offseason, particularly emptying the clip on National Signing Day in February, but it’s past time for Texas A&M to actually make some noise on the field. 

The Aggies’ head coach has been notoriously high on King’s combination of supreme athleticism and raw arm talent, but he threw three picks against Kent State and he has never started an SEC game. Neither has Weigman, obviously, but Fisher dubbed the five-star early enrollee the “best quarterback recruit in the country” this offseason. Johnson comes to Texas A&M with the most experience (18 games played), throwing for 27 touchdowns to just six interceptions last season. On the flip side, he is just 5-6 as a starter against Power 5 schools and completed only 60 percent of his passes and averaged 7.5 yards per attempt.

Still, Jimbo has options. 

Johnson is the safe bet to win the job, but no decision will come Saturday following Texas A&M’s spring game. This isn’t a mid-April choice, but a battle that will play out in mid-August. 

King could certainly reclaim his throne as A&M’s QB1. Weigman is a freshman, but if he’s the best of the bunch, Fisher shouldn’t hesitate to start the kid. 

Ultimately, Fisher must decide who gives Texas A&M the best chance to truly compete for a title this fall. He can’t settle for any “safe option.” That may sound like a ‘duh’ statement, but Dabo Swinney made that mistake twice. Kirby Smart was notoriously raked over the coals for a similar decision. 

So while many of those stud recruits from its historic 2022 class won’t contribute a ton this fall, some will, and the rest of the roster is built to win now.

With the options in front of him, Fisher needs to find the quarterback who can push the ball vertically and get it to a receiver room stocked with blue-chippers. 

One of A&M’s biggest issues since Fisher arrived in College Station is the offense’s lack of explosiveness. The Aggies’ offense is viewed as complicated but not overly imaginative. They have too many awesome athletes to rely on busted plays for chunk gains. In three of the four seasons in Fisher’s offense, Texas A&M has ranked near the bottom of the SEC (and among the worst 100 teams nationally) in plays over 30 yards.

Notably, its lone outlier season was in 2020, when it won nine games and nearly made the College Football Playoff. 

So those are the stakes. 

Get the quarterback position right — and with that empower whoever wins the job with a scheme that utilizes the rest of the team’s talent — and Texas A&M could truly end 83 years of misery. 

Get it wrong, and all the chest-puffing Fisher has done this offseason will be nothing more than the usual hot air out of Texas.