Texas A&M Football: 3 takeaways from blowout win over Kent State

Texas A&M Football QB Haynes King had a disappointing game but showed flashes of brilliance

There’s no way around it — Haynes King had a pretty brutal outing against Kent State in the Aggies’ week 1 matchup. Don’t worry, I’m about to explain to you why you shouldn’t worry about this.

For starters, pun intended, it was his first-ever start. He had a brand-new offensive line and wasn’t even named the starter until this past week. There was always going to be a warming up period.

Still, it was tough to see King’s three interceptions land in the hands of players in Kent State uniforms. Two of three passes were King’s fault, though the first was caused by a deflection. The second, on the other hand, was a ball thrown directly into the defense’s hands. The third pass was an unlucky deflection at the line of scrimmage.

King looked shaky, to say the least. In his first game as the team’s starter, he matched Kellen Mond’s interception total from the entirety of the 2020-21 season.

The bright side of this is that one of the few strengths of Kent State’s defense last season was their ability to limit passers. In the four games they played, opposing quarterbacks had more interceptions than touchdowns. There isn’t as much shame in having a tough outing as a quarterback, especially when the Golden Flashes couldn’t do much else on defense.

King also showed flashes of brilliance, including a Johnny Manziel-esque play in the first half that saw him escape a sure-sack for a first-down rush on third and long. It was one of a few positive plays from him.

He finished the game with 292 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions, completing 21-of-33 passes.

King will get better, fans just have to be patient with him.