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Texas A&M Football

Texas A&M football reports Tuesday as fall camp opens on Wednesday

August 1, 2023
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The quest for redemption starts in earnest.

The Texas A&M football team, aiming to avenge a disappointing 5-7 showing in the 2022 season, officially reports on Tuesday.

Among those reporting are eight returning starters on offense, eight returning starters on defense and 19 members of the top-ranked 2022 recruiting class.

The most intriguing competitions when practice begins on Wednesday are at quarterback, running back and the offensive line.

Conner Weigman and Max Johnson vie for the role of starting quarterback.

Last season, Weigman made four starts with the Aggies going 2-2 in them. He passed for 896 yards and eight touchdowns with no interceptions.

Johnson made three starts in which A&M went 2-1. He passed for 517 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions.

That competition figures to extend late into August.

It’ll take at least that long for coach Jimbo Fisher to opt for a replacement for All-SEC running back Devon Achane. He’ll be deciding among the trio of Amari Daniels, Le’Veon Moss and five-star freshman Rueben Owens.

Daniels and Moss played sparingly behind Achane last season. Daniels rushed for 200 yards on 26 carries. Moss gained 114 yards on just 27 carries.

If none of the three emerges as an obvious starter, the Aggies likely would not hesitate to use a running back by committee approach.

All five starters return in the offensive line, which figures to make significant improvement as long as last year’s injury plague isn’t duplicated.

Injuries limited center Bryce Foster to just four starts. With a full season, Foster could challenge for All-SEC honors.

Left tackle Trey Zuhn made 11 starts in 2022 despite playing injured. Left guard Kam Dewberry, a true freshman last season, was thrust into the starting lineup because of injuries to Aki Ogunbiyi and Jordan Moko. They’re back healthy but face a tough challenge in unseating Dewberry. A&M’s offense became more productive after Dewberry moved into the starting lineup.

Right guard Layden Robinson and right tackle Reuben Fatheree are also looking to improve on their 2022 performance.

A&M will also be looking to upgrade its pass rush and bolster its run defense in preparation for the season opener against New Mexico on Sept. 2.

Discussion from...

Texas A&M football reports Tuesday as fall camp opens on Wednesday

5,640 Views | 18 Replies | Last: 8 mo ago by TX_Aggie37
4
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"Conner Weigman and Max Johnson vie for the role of starting quarterback."

Hopefully this is just more coach speak from Jimbo designed to keep Max around this season, because if he honestly can't see which one of these two is clearly better than the other he doesn't need to be the HC.

Pretty sure he knows, but his dogged insistence on sticking with Haynes last year leaves a lot of questions about his judgment....
TX_Aggie37
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If Max starts the season is over. If he starts over Weigman it won't be because Max all of a sudden is an elite QB, but rather because Weigman proved to be much less of a player than we all hoped.

Probably just coach-speak, but I would think we'd want the team getting into the rhythm of QB1 as soon as possible. Maybe he's made the decision known behind the scenes.
beerad12man
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Max is absolutely good enough to meet our goals and win 9/10 games in the regular season if the team around his proves to be of the quality we think it can be. The season would not be over.

That said, the team has much more high-end potential with Weigman, and he needs to be the guy.
Loco84
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This year's team is full of question marks. No idea what to expect. The only known is that we still have Jimbo running the show and that makes me think we should expect mediocrity. If JImbo had nothing to do with the offense and let Petrino have complete control I would have hope but I'm pretty sure that won't be the case.
beerad12man
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Our question marks are honestly probably lower than most sec schools. We return more starters and more production than anyone in the sec, and 7th in the country.

Jimbo will be involved, as he should be. He just won't be calling the plays in game. He can gameplan with the best of them and still knows football, whether some believe it or not. The idea is for him to help make Petrino even better, while not being the actual OC. Not to mention Cheney.

This team will be good. What exactly that means record wise, I do not know. But a good, solid football team at worst.
big red dog
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It amazes me how many great recruiters, coordinators and game managers we have on Texags. Jimbo has a natty but doesn't know squat compared to brilliance on here. I, we are truly honored to have so much talent on this site.
Thanks Billy.
If only Bjork knew how to reach yall we'd have this next title wrapped up.
Keep up the great work guys.
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"I do this everyday, Sir!!"
big red dog
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awesome
big red dog
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Lmao
MaroonStain
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beerad12man said:

Max is absolutely good enough to meet our goals and win 9/10 games in the regular season if the team around his proves to be of the quality we think it can be. The season would not be over.

That said, the team has much more high-end potential with Weigman, and he needs to be the guy.


No. Max is 60% completion and 6.4 yds/attempt career QB. He is a check down machine with just enough wheels to outpace a basset hound. He's also been injured and missed games every season.
Sponge
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One year of great success doesn't mean Jimbo is the smartest guy at football. The rest of his career should be an indication of that. Auburn HC using Tre Mason more effectively should have prevented Jimbo from ever winning the natty.
rondis23
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MaroonStain said:

beerad12man said:

Max is absolutely good enough to meet our goals and win 9/10 games in the regular season if the team around his proves to be of the quality we think it can be. The season would not be over.

That said, the team has much more high-end potential with Weigman, and he needs to be the guy.


No. Max is 60% completion and 6.4 yds/attempt career QB. He is a check down machine with just enough wheels to outpace a basset hound. He's also been injured and missed games every season.


Max is actually faster than Weigman. Weigman is better at escaping but Max is NOT slow. Not saying he is better than Weigman, but Max also throws a significantly better deep ball. There's plenty of tape on Max by now from his time at LSU and here.
4
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He is neither faster nor does he throw a better deep ball.

Some of this is real easy to see.
TX_Aggie37
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100%. The fact that some here expect or want him to be 100% hands off the offense is crazy.
P.U.T.U
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rondis23 said:

MaroonStain said:

beerad12man said:

Max is absolutely good enough to meet our goals and win 9/10 games in the regular season if the team around his proves to be of the quality we think it can be. The season would not be over.

That said, the team has much more high-end potential with Weigman, and he needs to be the guy.


No. Max is 60% completion and 6.4 yds/attempt career QB. He is a check down machine with just enough wheels to outpace a basset hound. He's also been injured and missed games every season.


Max is actually faster than Weigman. Weigman is better at escaping but Max is NOT slow. Not saying he is better than Weigman, but Max also throws a significantly better deep ball. There's plenty of tape on Max by now from his time at LSU and here.
Max runs a 4.8 40 and Weigman runs a 4.5 so that argument is thrown out the window. Connor is also more elusive and throws from multiple arm angles so he is better on the run.

Check out the tape of the LSU game after Connor got a few games under his belt, perfectly located passes and this was after a few games. Keep in mind he is a true freshman

Max is not bad at all but he is exactly what his dad was, a game managing QB. If you have the talent around him he can take you deep in the playoffs but he will not take over a game and win it. Mond in 2020 was similar, as long as he does not make mistakes you have a chance to win the game. Connor did a great job of not making any big mistakes last year and he is a much better athlete. Easy choice here.

Plus Petrino likes mobile QBs that can create yards when the pocket breaks down. Max can move the chains, Connor can take it to the house
beerad12man
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MaroonStain said:

beerad12man said:

Max is absolutely good enough to meet our goals and win 9/10 games in the regular season if the team around his proves to be of the quality we think it can be. The season would not be over.

That said, the team has much more high-end potential with Weigman, and he needs to be the guy.


No. Max is 60% completion and 6.4 yds/attempt career QB. He is a check down machine with just enough wheels to outpace a basset hound. He's also been injured and missed games every season.
Yes. That can win 9-10 games. Mond went 9-1, finishing 4th with an Orange bowl win in 2020. Before that, he had passer ratings of 107, 135, and 131. Max has passer ratings of 134, 144, and 135. Can Kellen Mond go 9-3 or 10-2 with a good team around him? Absolutely.

Also, the last part simply isn't true. That's he's missed games due to injury every season. And last year, he broke his hand in a freak play. To act like he's injury prone is pushing it.

Again, Weigman is the guy. He gives us by far our best chance to win big. But to say the season is over with Max? Maybe in terms of championships, yes. But in terms of putting together a good season that turns the program back in the right direction? Sorry, I can't agree. Max is one of the better backup QBs in the country. You may as well say every other team in the country's season is over if they lose their starter.

Also, he's a career 7.4 yards per attempt passer. So your stats are off as well. He's a much better player than many give credit for.
beerad12man
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Sponge said:

One year of great success doesn't mean Jimbo is the smartest guy at football. The rest of his career should be an indication of that. Auburn HC using Tre Mason more effectively should have prevented Jimbo from ever winning the natty.
The rest of his career? He's had a great career, outlasting about 99% of guys who try to do what he does. His overall career shows far more good than bad.

Yes, he underachieved last year. He underachieved in 2017. His offense is outdated, and he needed to move away from the OC role into the HC / CEO role. But his overall success as a head coach isn't matched by many. He's now in the role most HC have been in the entire time they've been head coach. And most HC will still give influence on their side of the ball and/or overall gameplan. Why would we expect any different?
TX_Aggie37
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beerad12man said:

MaroonStain said:

beerad12man said:

Max is absolutely good enough to meet our goals and win 9/10 games in the regular season if the team around his proves to be of the quality we think it can be. The season would not be over.

That said, the team has much more high-end potential with Weigman, and he needs to be the guy.


No. Max is 60% completion and 6.4 yds/attempt career QB. He is a check down machine with just enough wheels to outpace a basset hound. He's also been injured and missed games every season.
Yes. That can win 9-10 games. Mond went 9-1, finishing 4th with an Orange bowl win in 2020. Before that, he had passer ratings of 107, 135, and 131. Max has passer ratings of 134, 144, and 135. Can Kellen Mond go 9-3 or 10-2 with a good team around him? Absolutely.

Also, the last part simply isn't true. That's he's missed games due to injury every season. And last year, he broke his hand in a freak play. To act like he's injury prone is pushing it.

Again, Weigman is the guy. He gives us by far our best chance to win big. But to say the season is over with Max? Maybe in terms of championships, yes. But in terms of putting together a good season that turns the program back in the right direction? Sorry, I can't agree. Max is one of the better backup QBs in the country. You may as well say every other team in the country's season is over if they lose their starter.

Also, he's a career 7.4 yards per attempt passer. So your stats are off as well. He's a much better player than many give credit for.
That's basically what I am saying. Very few exceptions to this rule (2014 Ohio State is one). Max is just fine and is a more than serviceable backup. But he's not equipped to take us where we ultimately want to go, which is Atlanta and beyond. We don't know if Weigman is or not yet, but we are fairly certain about the ceiling with Max. That was the point behind my "season is over" post.
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