After one of his most recent interviews, Texas A&M football head coach Jimbo Fisher isn’t going to let anyone know who’s going to be the Aggies’ next starting quarterback anytime soon. While many consider this to be a three-way competition between Haynes King, LSU transfer Max Johnson, and freshman five-star recruit Conner Weigman, that just isn’t the case.
Texas A&M Football has a huge battle at the quarterback position going into 2022. Who will Jimbo Fisher go with in Week 1?
The real battle is between King and Johnson. Fisher isn’t going to throw a freshman into the deep end when he has two quarterbacks on the team that have the ability to let Weigman sit back and learn.
So that means that King and Johnson are the two that are really locked in a battle for the starting job. Both have their strengths and weaknesses, so let’s take a minute to go through them and try to get a feeling as to which way Fisher is leaning.
Experience
If we are going strictly off of experience, then Johnson’s two years as the start at LSU gives him the advantage over King thanks to what he’s seen from opposing SEC defenses. Now, King was able to earn the starting job last season before a season-ending injury sidelined him. King though has a better grasp of the offense since he’s been with Fisher and the Aggies his entire collegiate career.
Winner: Johnson
Athletic Ability
If you had to pick which is the most athletically gifted in the room, not including Weigman who’s hands down the better of the three from an athletic standpoint, then King is your choice. King would be the quarterback who is able to elude defenders with greater ease than Johnson, keeping a play alive with his legs.
Winner: King
Decision Making
It’s hard to compete with a quarterback with more game-time experience than you, especially when he’s been able to see more coverages and defensive schemes than you. This is a problem for King in the battle against Johnson but not one that is insurmountable if he’s taken the time to study film and work on his timing with receivers. King will have to overcome the perception that Johnson’s experience makes him a better decision-maker. This may be difficult when King’s first game last year resulted in 3 bad interceptions while Johnson had 6 all season.
Winner: Johnson
Pocket Presence
What I believe will be the deciding factor in this battle for the Aggies starting job will be which quarterback has the better pocket presence and that player is King. Thanks to King’s ability to evade defenders and roll out of the pocket, this helps him extend plays. However, his ability to get the ball out of his hands faster than Johnson is what really stands out to me. The extra time that Johnson takes holding the football gives defenders more time to get him to the ground which led to his 33 sacks last season.
Winner: King
Now for the QB’s and quick release drill…Haynes King pic.twitter.com/ILVhOZQscE
— David Sandhop (@HopWebsider) August 4, 2022
Quick release drill…Max Johnson pic.twitter.com/orJRqwEDWc
— David Sandhop (@HopWebsider) August 4, 2022
In the end, I have King winning over Johnson, but it will be a close competition. If he stumbles in any way, don’t be surprised if Jimbo Fisher swaps quarterbacks.