Third time's a charm: Weigman poised to have breakout 2024 campaign

From the moment Conner Weigman committed to Texas A&M, there was hope his ascension to an elite college football quarterback was just a matter of time.

The time has come.

The talent, tutelage, and team could… No, should… No, must come together for Weigman this season. After all, the third time is a charm.

So far, he has had a hard time. Stuck in a sluggish offense and behind a suspect offensive line, it was like doing hard time for a quarterback.

An unchecked blitzing Auburn safety. A free shot. A broken foot. Weigman’s time was up just three and a half games into the 2023 season.

Consequently, he remains somewhat of a mystery to most of college football. That could change quickly.

First of all, he’s fully recovered from the foot injury that hampered him as recently as spring practice.

“For a while, this offseason was all about getting my foot right, getting back to 100 percent and getting back to being able to move how I was able to move before I got hurt,” Weigman said Monday. “Once we got that figured out, just (worked on) football stuff. Cleaning out my mechanics, footwork stuff, being good with my eyes through my progressions.”

Numbers foretell a big year for a healthy Weigman.

He's started and finished only seven games. In those games, Weigman has passed for 1,714 yards and 16 touchdowns. That’s an average of 245 yards and 2.3 touchdowns.

Projected over a 13-game schedule (yes, I’m expecting at least one postseason game), that comes out to 3,185 yards and 30 touchdowns. That would be the best season for an A&M quarterback since Johnny Manziel passed for 4,114 yards and 37 touchdowns in 2013.

But it’s fair to project Weigman to produce even more. As mentioned, his previous totals were accumulated with an outdated offense and behind a struggling offensive line.

A change to the scheme of new offensive coordinator Collin Klein, who came over from Kansas State, could make a significant difference for Weigman.

In a way, Weigman’s foot injury helped him make the transition to Klein’s offense.

“I spent a lot of hours with coach Klein right off the bat,” Weigman said. “All I was able to do when they first got here was watch film. I couldn’t really move. I was still in a boot.

"Just being able to pick his brain on his offense, I picked it up pretty fast. It’s been really good so far.”

Asked what he liked most about Klein’s offense, Weigman simply said. “Points. We’re going to score a lot of points.”

A&M head coach Mike Elko has certainly been impressed with the strides Weigman made.

“A really good one,” Elko said of Weigman’s summer. “When you talk about where he was in the spring — learning a brand new system, coming back from injury, not anywhere near 100 percent.

Jamie Maury, TexAgs

Conner Weigman found Noah Thomas in the end zone three times in the 2023 opener against New Mexico. 

“Imagine being a thrower but not being able to put a ton of pressure on your plant leg. As he’s throwing a football, he couldn’t put pressure on his left foot the way you want to. How you compensate for that was challenging. It was really challenging for him.

“To be able to come out of that, now be healthy, be able to play and function the way you want to, be a lot more comfortable in the system, which allows you to kind of be able to play the game you want; it has been a cool summer for him to watch it come together, see the confidence, see the excitement, see the energy. … I think he’s a lot more comfortable today than he was in the spring game.”

Adding to the excitement is the hope that new offensive line coach Adam Cushing — along with some new additions to the line — can bring improved protection for Weigman.

Also, every star quarterback has at least one star receiver. Junior Noah Thomas, who also has overcome injuries, could be that for Weigman.

“He’s a dude,” Weigman said of Thomas. “He’s 6-foot-6, and he can fly. He can go get the ball up top. He can do anything. Giving him the ball quickly and giving him the ball in open space, it’s going to be fun to watch him this year.”

That would be fun. Watching a star quarterback operating a high-scoring, innovative, unpredictable offense would be even more fun.

Frankly, it’s about time.