Texas A&M Football: The impact of having LSU QB transfer Max Johnson

Even though the season wasn’t what they were looking for, it’s been an eventful offseason thus far for the Texas A&M football team. With the Aggies dropping out of the Gator Bowl, A&M’s offseason got to an early start — this could actually turn into a long-term advantage for an SEC team that got caught somewhere in the middle in 2021.

Even better, the Aggies had a head start with the commitment of Max Johnson, a transfer quarterback from LSU. Johnson announced his intent to pack up and head to Aggieland a week and a half ago — just a few days before the Aggies dropped out of the Gator Bowl.

What kind of impact can Aggie fans expect out of Max Johnson? It may be bigger than you think.

The Texas A&M football team won’t have another quarterback-less season in 2022

The biggest issue for the Texas A&M football team in 2021 was undeniably at the quarterback position. The competition that took place in the offseason felt like somewhat of a media ploy — Haynes King was the clear favorite all along.

That won’t be the case in 2022.

With Zach Calzada transferring out, there will now be three players who are competing for this quarterback spot. The first is King, who won it before being injured early in 2021. Next to him, you’ll see Max Johnson and Conner Weigman, a five-star incoming freshman and one of the best quarterbacks in the 2022 cycle.

It’s Johnson, however, who truly puts the quarterback spot over the top. Even though he wasn’t on a relevant team, the LSU passer quietly had one of the best seasons in the country, throwing for 26 touchdowns and just seven interceptions. Completing over 60% of his passes, he nearly hit the 3,000-yard mark in 2021.

247Sports’ Jeff Tarpley mentioned that Johnson’s presence will give A&M a much higher floor at the QB spot in 2022. Essentially, a 26-touchdown, seven-interception type of player is the worst case in Aggieland in 2021. Unlike this past season, A&M fans have a player with a tangible SEC resume.

That’s the true value that Johnson brings to Aggieland — security. Besides some offensive line issues, A&M’s only true issue in 2021 was at the quarterback spot, where they were extremely limited by Calzada. With that worry gone, it seems like the team itself has a much higher floor and potentially a higher ceiling.

That said, the quarterback competition feels wide open this year. King is technically the returning starter, though he only completed a single game as the team’s starting passer last year. Weigman was the most talented out of high school but hasn’t played at the college level.

Unlike last year, this could be a truly tantalizing storyline.