After a long, drawn-out offseason quarterback competition, the Texas A&M Football team has finally named their starter. It was between Zach Calzada, who was Kellen Mond’s backup for a year in 2019, and Haynes King, who was Mond’s backup the year after. In the end, the choice didn’t come as much of a surprise.
Jimbo Fisher went with King, who was considered the favorite to win the job for the entirety of the offseason, even as A&M insisted that the job was still up in the air.
What does Texas A&M Football QB Haynes King bring to the table that Zach Calzada doesn’t?
There are a handful of positives that come attached to King over Calzada, and to take things a step further, there are a few areas where King will excel more than Mond did in the immediate future.
To get a clearer view of how he’ll perform as the starting quarterback, I am going to be predicting Haynes King’s stats for the 2021 season. This may sound familiar — I did a post earlier this summer on what each starting quarterback candidate’s stats will look like. That post is still valid, but I’m going to take a deeper dive this time around.
Instead of comparing and contracting King, Calzada, and Eli Stowers, I’ll be specifically focusing on what King can bring to this offense. I’ll be going over passing yards, passing touchdowns, rushing yards, and rushing touchdowns.
So without further ado, here are my predicted stats in each category for Haynes King as starting quarterback of the Texas A&M Football team in 2021.
Texas A&M Football starting quarterback Haynes King will have a relatively quiet year as a passer
Predicted 2021 Passing Stats: 2,400 yards, 20 TD, 10 INT
The numbers that I’m predicting Haynes King to accumulate over the course of the 2021 season are modest — I’ll give you that — but his rushing totals will make up for it. That said, he’s an undeniably more confident runner at this point in time.
Nobody should expect an explosive season through the air out of Haynes King. Throughout the time that we’ve seen him play in spring games and regular-season action, he hasn’t “wowed” anybody with his ability to throw the ball. Rather, he’s a slithery runner who can make plays when he needs to.
I think this will translate directly to the stat sheet.
In terms of yardage, I think King could turn some heads. The primary factor that will hold him back is the fact that this team will likely be more willing to get the running game going early with an almost entirely revamped offensive line. Four new starters upfront doesn’t always bode well for an air-raid offense.
Still, King has all of the weapons he might need around him. Specifically, he has a short-yardage threat in Ainias Smith, a deep-threat in Caleb Chapman, and a red zone threat in Jalen Wydermyer. The young quarterback has all of the tools necessary to succeed.
Still, I think the fact that he has a young, learning offensive line could open the door for some early mistakes, leading to the relatively high interception total. He’ll be restricted schematically at first, but could open up as the season continues.
Texas A&M Football starting quarterback Haynes King will cause trouble for opposing teams with his legs
Predicted 2021 Rushing Stats: 1,000 yards, 12 touchdowns
I hate to be the guy who keeps comparing Haynes King to Johnny Manziel, but there isn’t a better comparison to make in terms of playstyle. Both guys are more than willing to run the ball and know how to escape the pocket.
Because of this, I think Haynes King will shine as a runner.
To get a perspective into how well he may do, I mixed a couple of data sets. To start, I looked at the fact that Kellen Mond rushed for 501 yards in his last full 12-game season as quarterback. This stuck out to me, as Mond wasn’t really considered a dual-threat quarterback — at least not to the extent of King.
Manziel, on the other hand, had a 1,400-yard season rushing the ball in his first season with Texas A&M. He tacked on 21 rushing touchdowns. It’s shocking but truly impressive that he was able to do that with his legs.
It’s hard to see a world where King matches up to those numbers, but I don’t think it’s unrealistic to say that he’ll be somewhere between Manziel’s 2012 season and Mond’s 2019 season.