Texas A&M Football: Could Haynes King be the next Johnny Manziel?

Texas A&M Football has been blessed to have extremely strong quarterback play over the past decade. It goes beyond that, but this program has done a strong job of consistently bringing in strong talent and competing in the best conference in college football in recent years.

Most recently, TAMU fans had the privilege of watching Kellen Mond under center. While his playstyle was unique to most previous Aggie quarterbacks, he was equally as effective and led Texas A&M to their best season of the decade.

But after a slow-burn quarterback who wasn’t very flashy, Texas A&M might have an opportunity to watch a flashier quarterback in Haynes King. King is currently the favorite to take the starting spot in 2021.

Texas A&M Football may have the next Johnny Manziel with Haynes King

I don’t want to be the guy that starts labeling every starting quarterback “the next Johnny Manziel” but the similarities between these players are striking.

While King has a much larger stature than Manziel at 6’3″, he moves like a smaller, fast-twitch player. In all likelihood, this comes as a result of a late growth spurt in his high school years. For a while, he was an undersized quarterback.

Now that he is filled out, he holds the physical attributes of a small, agile quarterback, while he still has the stature to see over his offensive line and take big hits.

That’s where his greatest strength lies. Because of his natural athleticism, he isn’t afraid of pressure in the pocket. Watching his tape, you’ll see him excel at scrambling out of the pocket and keeping plays alive with his feet — something that Johnny Football did better than any player in the history of the game.

At the end of the day, this comparison is highly based on the eye test. It’s easy to say that every dual-threat quarterback coming to Texas A&M looks like Manziel, but he really does look like the former Heisman winner. His ability to improvise on any given play is a beautiful sight.

It’s hard to see King becoming the player that Manziel was anytime soon, but he’s in the right place to get there. For now, he still has to earn the starting spot in College Station.