Texas A&M football and Mississippi State both may have Injured QBs back
Things have been somewhat mum on the quarterback health front for Texas A&M football, but there have been enough rumors swirling to make many Aggie fans wary of whether Max Johnson will be available for the game this Saturday against Mississippi State. Jimbo was asked about this very thing at his Monday presser, and he said that Johnson was practicing and expected to start the game. Asked again about it on the SEC teleconference call today, Jimbo reaffirmed this position, perhaps in slightly stronger terms.
Texas A&M QB Max Johnson has been practicing and is still expected to start Saturday against Mississippi State, head coach Jimbo Fisher said on the SEC teleconference.
— 𝕋𝕣𝕒𝕧𝕚𝕤 𝕃. 𝔹𝕣𝕠𝕨𝕟 (@Travis_L_Brown) November 8, 2023
Others took a dimmer view of Jimbo’s words, like SEC Mike.
Jimbo Fisher asked about QB Max Johnson’s availability for the Mississippi State game:
— SEC Mike (@MichaelWBratton) November 8, 2023
“Yeah, he practicing and doing what he needs to do.”
That’s all he said.
After listening to every presser he’s done over the last six years, I can say that the context of the question is probably necessary to determine what Jimbo meant—and for that reason I’d go with Travis’s interpretation of his words, as he is a veteran of Jimbo PCs and understands his particular idiom a little bit better.
Also of interest were Mississippi State coach Zach Arnett’s words about senior QB Will Rogers.
Mississippi State QB Will Rogers is practicing, considered day-to-day according to Zach Arnett
— SEC Mike (@MichaelWBratton) November 8, 2023
Of course, SEC Mike does not provide the exact quote here (though I have no reason to doubt the veracity of his representation of Arnett’s words). Having Rogers back would be huge for a Bulldog offense that has been one of the most insipid in the conference—though, admittedly, they weren’t exactly world beaters when he was in there, either.
Rogers has put up a total of 737 yards on 104 attempts (7.09 YPA), 6 TDs, and 0 INTs in the past two years versus the Aggies (though that was in a far different system than he would be running if he were to return to action this Saturday). It should be said that this is probably not the defensive front against which an injured QB would want to make his triumphant return, but Rogers is pretty fearless in the pocket and a tough guy overall. We’ll keep tabs on this situation as it continues to develop.