Kevin Sumlin
Myles & Dae Dae
Christian Kirk
Boone & RSJ
Texas A&M Football
Trevor Knight, Aggies' new offense steal show in Maroon & White Game
If anything can be judged by Saturday’s Maroon and White Game, then Trevor Knight appears to have taken a lead in the Texas A&M quarterback competition.
Knight, the graduate transfer from Oklahoma, appeared to perform better than junior Jake Hubenak, who played fewer snaps because he was struggling with illness.
Still, Knight completed 25 of 36 passes for 282 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for a touchdown as the Maroon (offense) posted a 42-38 victory before 27,412 at Kyle Field.
“He got more snaps than we wanted him to get because Jake had flu-like symptoms,” A&M coach Kevin Sumlin said. “(Jake) was under the weather … throwing up. He still went ahead and went a couple of series.
“I thought both of them, when they were in there, were pretty good. I saw Trevor today operate from the pocket, but he was also able to extend some plays, which helps our protection — particularly when it’s the two ends (Myles Garrett and Daeshon Hall) that we have rushing. He was pretty accurate when he did it. I thought the quarterbacks were pretty efficient today.”
Hubenak had a solid showing, too. He completed five of 10 passes for 46 yards, but was victimized by some bad luck.
A perfect pass to Damion Ratley which would have covered at least 40 yards was dropped. Also, a deep completion to Boone Neiderhofer was nullified because officials ruled a sack had occurred.
“Jake said he wasn’t touched yet,” Neiderhofer said. “I was upset a little about that.”
“I haven’t thought about it since I walked off the field,” Sumlin said. “I’ll give it some thought. I’ll have to watch videos. I had the worst seat in the house. We’ll see.
“We’ll evaluate where they are. We’ll have our own timeline for that.”
Though Offensive Coordinator Noel Mazzone did not call plays, the Aggies had more than 100 offensive snaps and produced several highlights.
Knight connected with running back Kwame Etwi for an 18-yard gain and hit wide-open tight end Grant Gustafson for 39 yards. Knight also hit Neiderhofer on touchdown passes that covered nine and 12 yards.
Hubenak connected with freshman running back Trayveon Williams for a 29-yard gain on a screen pass.
However, the most dynamic pass was thrown by receiver Christian Kirk, who connected with Speedy Noil for a 36-yard touchdown.
Kirk took a handoff from Knight on an apparent jet sweep to the left. However, Kirk curled back to the right and heaved a perfect throw to Noil, who made the grab in front of Nick Harvey at the goal line.
Even more impressive, the play was not designed to go to Noil.
“Coach Mazzone texted me in class on Thursday to get my arm ready,” Kirk said. “They showed me the play and we practiced it on Friday. Coach Mazzone asked what receiver had the best arm and I guess I was voted.
“The ball was supposed to go to Josh (Reynolds) but he was covered. I saw Speedy made a move on Nick and I let it rip.”
However, overall the defense had the better outing when the first-team units were matched.
TexAgs
The Aggies' known commodities on defense (Myles Garrett pictured in white) delivered as expected, and perhaps left reason for hope that the run defense has improved.
{"Module":"photo","Alignment":"right","Size":"large","Caption":"The Aggies\u0027 known commodities on defense (Myles Garrett pictured in white) delivered as expected, and perhaps left reason for hope that the run defense has improved.","MediaItemID":70253}
“Without a doubt we’ve got more experienced players on defense,” Sumlin said. “You’ve probably got a number of NFL players on defense – half the defense – that have played. That’s without (injured nickel back) Donovan Wilson being out there.”
Safety Justin Evans broke up a pass and deflected another pass that Amani Watts intercepted. Daeshon Hall, Daylon Mack and Myles Garrett were credited with sacks. Defensive tackle Kingsley Keke batted down a pass and had a tackle for loss.
Perhaps most importantly, the Aggies did a solid job in run defense. A couple of nice gains were allowed on runs, but nothing major.
“We didn’t really do too well against the run last year,” Garrett said. “We really want to build on that. We want to be a great defense overall, not just getting out there on the pass and getting sacks. We want to be one of the best defenses on both sides.
"We’ve worked on getting the gaps filled and keeping our ends held, so we can hold up against the big run teams in the SEC.”
Knight, the graduate transfer from Oklahoma, appeared to perform better than junior Jake Hubenak, who played fewer snaps because he was struggling with illness.
Still, Knight completed 25 of 36 passes for 282 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for a touchdown as the Maroon (offense) posted a 42-38 victory before 27,412 at Kyle Field.
“He got more snaps than we wanted him to get because Jake had flu-like symptoms,” A&M coach Kevin Sumlin said. “(Jake) was under the weather … throwing up. He still went ahead and went a couple of series.
“I thought both of them, when they were in there, were pretty good. I saw Trevor today operate from the pocket, but he was also able to extend some plays, which helps our protection — particularly when it’s the two ends (Myles Garrett and Daeshon Hall) that we have rushing. He was pretty accurate when he did it. I thought the quarterbacks were pretty efficient today.”
Hubenak had a solid showing, too. He completed five of 10 passes for 46 yards, but was victimized by some bad luck.
A perfect pass to Damion Ratley which would have covered at least 40 yards was dropped. Also, a deep completion to Boone Neiderhofer was nullified because officials ruled a sack had occurred.
“Jake said he wasn’t touched yet,” Neiderhofer said. “I was upset a little about that.”
I haven’t thought about it since I walked off the field. I’ll give it some thought. I’ll have to watch videos. I had the worst seat in the house. We’ll see. We’ll evaluate where they are. We’ll have our own timeline for that.
{"Module":"quote","Alignment":"left","Quote":"I haven’t thought about it since I walked off the field. I’ll give it some thought. I’ll have to watch videos. I had the worst seat in the house. We’ll see. We’ll evaluate where they are. We’ll have our own timeline for that.","Author":"Kevin Sumlin on the QB competition"}
Despite Knight’s strong showing, Sumlin seemed to indicate neither quarterback had gained a significant edge in the competition. He was unsure when a starter would be named.“I haven’t thought about it since I walked off the field,” Sumlin said. “I’ll give it some thought. I’ll have to watch videos. I had the worst seat in the house. We’ll see.
“We’ll evaluate where they are. We’ll have our own timeline for that.”
Though Offensive Coordinator Noel Mazzone did not call plays, the Aggies had more than 100 offensive snaps and produced several highlights.
Knight connected with running back Kwame Etwi for an 18-yard gain and hit wide-open tight end Grant Gustafson for 39 yards. Knight also hit Neiderhofer on touchdown passes that covered nine and 12 yards.
Hubenak connected with freshman running back Trayveon Williams for a 29-yard gain on a screen pass.
However, the most dynamic pass was thrown by receiver Christian Kirk, who connected with Speedy Noil for a 36-yard touchdown.
Kirk took a handoff from Knight on an apparent jet sweep to the left. However, Kirk curled back to the right and heaved a perfect throw to Noil, who made the grab in front of Nick Harvey at the goal line.
Even more impressive, the play was not designed to go to Noil.
“Coach Mazzone texted me in class on Thursday to get my arm ready,” Kirk said. “They showed me the play and we practiced it on Friday. Coach Mazzone asked what receiver had the best arm and I guess I was voted.
“The ball was supposed to go to Josh (Reynolds) but he was covered. I saw Speedy made a move on Nick and I let it rip.”
However, overall the defense had the better outing when the first-team units were matched.
TexAgs
The Aggies' known commodities on defense (Myles Garrett pictured in white) delivered as expected, and perhaps left reason for hope that the run defense has improved.
{"Module":"photo","Alignment":"right","Size":"large","Caption":"The Aggies\u0027 known commodities on defense (Myles Garrett pictured in white) delivered as expected, and perhaps left reason for hope that the run defense has improved.","MediaItemID":70253}
Safety Justin Evans broke up a pass and deflected another pass that Amani Watts intercepted. Daeshon Hall, Daylon Mack and Myles Garrett were credited with sacks. Defensive tackle Kingsley Keke batted down a pass and had a tackle for loss.
Perhaps most importantly, the Aggies did a solid job in run defense. A couple of nice gains were allowed on runs, but nothing major.
“We didn’t really do too well against the run last year,” Garrett said. “We really want to build on that. We want to be a great defense overall, not just getting out there on the pass and getting sacks. We want to be one of the best defenses on both sides.
"We’ve worked on getting the gaps filled and keeping our ends held, so we can hold up against the big run teams in the SEC.”
Never miss the latest news from TexAgs!
Join our free email list
