Aggie fans got their first glimpse of the Texas A&M Football team on Saturday in the annual Maroon and White game. This year’s spring game was pretty successful, allowing fans to learn a lot about a team that is going to see a lot of change offensively.
Most importantly, everybody was given a first glimpse at this team’s quarterback competition, a battle that will likely be one of the best in College Station in recent memory.
There are three players competing for the starting quarterback position: Haynes King, Zach Calzada, and Eli Stowers. More realistically, the competition is between the first two listed, but Stowers is a wild card freshman who could steal the spot with a good offseason.
The Texas A&M Football quarterback competition just got interesting
Going into the spring games, many fans expected to see some clear separation in this competition, with King or Calzada separating themselves. That said, no such separation would be seen. If anything, things became even more interesting on Saturday.
We’ll start with Haynes King since he is considered the frontrunner to earn the spot.
King had an up and down game, showing flashes of excellence while also showing his youth at other moments. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t have a ton of time throughout the game, as a young offensive line was being eaten alive by an experienced defensive front.
King would finish the game having completed 16 of his 31 passes with a touchdown and an interception. He’d have 211 yards through the air.
Zach Calzada, on the other hand, looked extremely sharp. He also had his ups and downs but didn’t allow King to feel comfortable as the frontrunner for a second. Other than an ugly interception, he was playing strong football.
Calzada finished the game 19-of-40 with 250 yards, replicating King’s touchdown-to-interception with one of each.
In every way, these two players could not have had more similar games. The eye test would tell you that Calzada played better, but King was being rushed the entire game. If you were hoping for clarity from the spring game, you’ll walk away disappointed.
This is a quarterback competition that seems to be getting better with time. Expect an exciting off-season between now and the fall season.