For Texas A&M fans, this was the day that we’ve all been waiting for. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anybody that Haynes King won the starting quarterback job over Zach Calzada — it was practically set in stone. Still, learning that he’d be the first guy under center against Kent State will give fans a sense of security.
To give some context, King was Kellen Mond’s backup throughout the entirety of the 2020-21 season. Unfortunately for King, Mond was a stellar quarterback. As a result, we’ve had a very small sample size to work with in terms of getting a look at this coming season’s quarterback.
King’s competition in Calzada was Mond’s backup a year prior. In a similar fashion, he hardly saw the field before eventually being replaced as the number two guy on this team. Still, it looked like a great quarterback battle.
The Texas A&M Football team’s quarterback competition was never much of a battle
While people on the inside may claim that this was a quarterback battle through the end, in all likelihood, Jimbo Fisher made his decision weeks ago. Now, King will be suiting up as this team’s long-awaited successor to Mond.
And with a brand-new face at the starting quarterback, there are certain implications, for better and for worse. Thankfully, King may bring a couple of new dimensions to the Aggies’ game, which could be on full display as early as the first game of the season.
Today, I’m going to be going over three implications of Haynes King winning the starting job.
Texas A&M Football, new starting QB Implication No. 1: Dual-threat quarterback
I thought I’d start with this implication since it seems like the most obvious.
Look back at the past three years of having Kellen Mond under center. You had a player who was a fully capable runner but simply preferred to stay in the pocket and work as a more traditional quarterback. This wasn’t necessarily a bad thing but it did flatten out Texas A&M’s game.
Rather than having a two-dimensional game, A&M’s offense was limited. It was never bad, but there was a distinct ceiling attached when Mond was the team’s quarterback. With King, that ceiling disappears.
Even with a tiny sample, we know that King can hurt opposing teams with his legs. Even more importantly, he’s willing to hurt opposing teams with his legs.
In the two games that we’ve seen out of King, we’ve had a mixed bag from him as a passer. That goes to the tune of 2-4 passing with 59 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. There’s no accurate way to interpret that.
His running game, however, was performed with a certain level of consistency, as he rushed the ball six times for 43 yards. If you need a larger sample of this, check out his high school tape, where he consistently torched opposing teams with little effort. Jimbo Fisher has even been on record saying that King has “sub-4.50 speed.”
Texas A&M Football, new starting QB Implication No. 2: Higher-ceiling offense
I know it may seem like I’m talking a lot about Kellen Mond, a guy who is off to the NFL and will never take another snap for Texas A&M, but that’s the goal of this article — to explain how things will change with King under center.
Think again about Mond’s career in the maroon and white. He was a solid, reliable quarterback. He made plays and rarely had bad throws. One thing we cannot say about Mond, however, is that he was an explosive quarterback.
King, however, may change that. The sophomore out of Longview, Texas has a much higher ceiling as a player. With that, unfortunately, comes the simple truth that this offense will take many more risks. There will likely be more offensive turnovers than we saw a season ago.
Still, King has arguably more weapons to work with offensively than Mond ever did with Spiller alongside him, Caleb Chapman and Ainias Smith at the wideout spots, and Jalen Wydermyer catching passes from the tight end position. King’s sophomore season is set up to be a good one.
We’ll get a great glimpse of this in the first game of the season against Kent State, a team with one of the worst defenses in the country. This could be a telling one for the Aggies.
Texas A&M Football, new starting QB Implication No. 3: Slow learning period
To piggyback off of the last slide, Texas A&M’s quarterback should have a strong start to the year. He’s getting one of the easiest opponents imaginable for a new-face quarterback in the Kent State Golden Flashes.
Still, we have to temper our expectations.
This is coming from the same guy who wrote a post drawing comparisons between King and Johnny Manziel. If we’re getting really technical, the similarities in their playstyle really are jarring, but I digress.
At the end of the day, King is a first-year quarterback behind an offensive line that will feature four new starters. Even though he does have the aforementioned weapons in Spiller, Chapman, Smith, and Wydermyer, it’ll be an uphill battle for the sophomore. Do not be surprised if it takes him a bit to adjust to the college level.
That said, King has a pretty easy start to his career. Barring any disaster, it’s hard to see him not go 5-0. Unfortunately, things will get very real very fast after this. Texas A&M will come up against the Alabama Crimson Tide, a team that will prove to be their toughest competition of the entire season.
On the bright side, King will mature extremely fast in a game like that. Even more positively, he does have experience against Nick Saban’s team, where he played during garbage time in a blowout game last season.
Overall, King is an exciting player to have under center, but he’s young. He should be fun to watch in the maroon and white.