Texas A&M QB room disrespected with C Grade by Saturday Down South
The 2023 college football season will be a noisy one for Texas A&M, as the Aggies embark with heightened expectations across the board. From the belief that Jimbo Fisher could be coaching for his future to the hiring of Bobby Petrino to helm the offense, the surrounding narratives are plenty. But taking a shot at the Aggies’ quarterback room? That might be too premature.
Saturday Down South recently graded each SEC team’s current QB room and perhaps unsurprisingly, they did not hold back on their assessment of the depth under center for Texas A&M:
AGREE with our SEC QB Room Grades? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/WFgzVS5gH1
— Saturday Down South (@SatDownSouth) March 6, 2023
One outlet’s perspective is by no means the spoken word, but a quick glance at the ensuing comments highlights that the Aggies signal-callers are being easily dismissed. If the eye test isn’t enough for the critics, then the hard facts make it tough to argue against.
If the C grade was solely predicated on last season’s tape then that’s only one piece of the puzzle. Yes, the Aggies averaged 219.4 yards per game and finished the season with the third-fewest total yards (2633) and second-fewest points (22.75) per game. Inconsistency from the quarterback position played a role in their offensive struggles.
But Texas A&M could be in for one of its best years for quarterbacks after welcoming back sophomore Conner Weigman, who had a promising freshman season in five appearances for the Aggies. After being the last man standing atop the depth chart a season ago, Weigman finished off the season with 896 passing yards and eight touchdowns.
Now with Petrino at the helm as offensive coordinator, we could see a return of a high-octane offense given Weigman’s ability to move around the pocket and stretch the field while on the move.
That being said, it’s not a foregone conclusion that Weigman will be the starting quarterback in 2023. Max Johnson will return and while he was limited to four starting appearances last season, he has a leg up over Weigman in playing experience after transferring from LSU. While in Death Valley, he accumulated 3,384 passing yards and 37 touchdowns in 18 games for the Tigers.
The Aggies clearly have two capable starters atop the depth chart which bodes well for the short term. And yet also have their eyes toward the future as they welcome Marcel Reed to the roster, a four-star recruit and the No. 20 quarterback in the 2023 class. Reed played in 13 games as a senior for Nashville (Tenn.) Montgomery Bell Academy, completing 58.8 percent of his passes for 2,198 yards and 27 touchdowns with seven interceptions. He also added 944 yards on the ground with 15 rushing scores.
Despite Weigman and Johnson needing to sort out the starting quarterback job, it’s clear that the Aggies QB room has the most upside it’s had in recent memory, perhaps since the days of Johnny Manziel. And the addition of newcomer Reed only paints a brighter picture for the future.
Regardless of how controversial the hiring may be, having Petrino at the helm of the offense should help give a boost to a quarterback position that has held Texas A&M back in recent memory. Not to mention that Petrino has a long track record of developing quarterbacks into draft picks.
With a proven SEC starter and a freshman All-American on the depth chart, and a promising four-star recruit on the horizon, the math doesn’t add up for the Aggies QB room to be granted a mere passing grade. But that’s what hot takes are for, to attract attention. If this unit can deliver in 2023, you can bookmark this SEC QB room breakdown to look back on for a good laugh.
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