Texas A&M Football: Evaluating the quarterback performances in Week 2

Kellen Mond – The positives

The beginning

That first drive Mond orchestrated was what the Aggies were looking for in their quarterback and their offense. The 79-yard drive was capped off by a 30-yard touchdown pass from Mond to Christian Kirk. A&M looked fresh and Mond completed all three of his passes. If we can see more performances like that from the Ags will be in pretty good shape this season.

Time

Something that really stuck out to me was Mond’s early performance when he had time to throw the ball. Those first few drives the true freshman looked calm and relaxed and was able to set up and throw some accurate passes. When the protection was there he usually found someone to get the ball to with some precision. If the Aggie line can hold up like that, which will happen if Mond can get the ball out quick, it will only help Mond’s development.

Ball placement

His ball placement in those early drives was solid and a huge improvement from his debut. There were a bunch of shorter throws this week much like his first outing. This week, however, they were thrown more accurately and more of them were caught. He was able to connect with his buddy from high school Jhamon Ausbon a few times as well. You could tell there was a little more chemistry and timing between those two compared to Mond and the others.

Athletic ability

Of course, there’s no question as to if the kid can run the ball. Sumlin was obviously trying to work on his arm Saturday and didn’t call many designed runs with him. But when he did get out and go, his legs looked great and he was able to pick up a few yards when he had to.

There’s never been a question of his arm strength either. When he did air the ball out down the field, there was never a lack of distance on the throw. Once he gets the timing and chemistry down with his deep threats, a whole new door could open for the Aggie offense.