Texas A&M Football: Quarterback analysis from Aggie Spring Game
Places for Improvement
I get that it’s only spring and that there is still a long way to go before the season gets here, so there are going to be a few things that everyone needs to work on. While Mond has certainly improved a good bit, there are still some areas of play that need to improve. Remember how the good you saw in him in 2017, you could see Saturday? Well, the same goes for the bad. There are three areas he needs to work on.
Accuracy
First off, his accuracy still has ways to go. I’ll grant him that he threw a few really nice balls. He found Cam Buckley on a deep out route and also found Kendrick Rodgers on a deep corner route that couldn’t have been thrown any better. That pitch and catch ended up prefacing the game-winning play which was a little rollout dump to Rodgers.
https://twitter.com/AggieFootball/status/985329362277773312
So yes, there were certainly flashes of what Mond may be capable of in the future. Until then, he still has to develop. He missed his fair share of open throws as and, at times, wasn’t even close to his intended receiver. With elite defensive back producing programs like Alabama and LSU, accuracy comes at a premium and without it, good luck.
Last season, Mond threw three touchdowns against SEC opponents and five interceptions while completing just over 50% of his throws. It may be worth noting that at the end of the first quarter on Saturday, Mond didn’t even have twenty passing yards. Again, there has been an obvious improvement but there obviously needs to be more as well.
Receiver Diversity
Secondly, and again this is something that we saw last season, Mond gets latched onto one or two targets and doesn’t really stray away from them. In 2017, he seemed to target his high school classmate, Jhamon Ausbon over 50% of the time. If it’s working that’s fine, but once we get into the season, you’re going to have to either adapt or die.
We sort of saw this on Saturday with Mond targeting Cameron Buckley and Kendrick Rodgers most of the time. I will concede they were open on most plays and it was obviously working. In those situations, it doesn’t bother me. I’m a firm believer in the saying “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” or my favorite, “dance with who brung ya.” When it’s working, that’s okay but it’s something Mond needs to avoid and a habit he will have to break in SEC play. Coaches will pick up on it and expose him in a heartbeat.
The greats are guys like Tom Brady and Peyton Manning who could throw to whoever’s on the field and still be productive. Kellen has a way to go but I think with more time, it’s definitely attainable.
Organization/Leadership
The last thing is something that I hope I’m looking into too much, but I still want to make note of it. I understand that it’s the spring game and spring games are always a little sloppy and sort of like a chaotic mess at times. We don’t need to lose sleep over some of the mistakes we see in the spring.
But when it came to Mond having his troops organized on the field, he failed at times. One instance, there was a delay of game penalty which clearly upset Jimbo who was barking at his quarterback. There were a few more moments where the offensive players were not all on the same page.
Again, let’s not make to big of a deal over this. Kellen needs to work on having his ducks in a row between the last play’s whistle and the next play’s snap. I’m sure most of the kinks will be worked out when all the starters are together and as time goes on.