QB race remains open as Aggies wrap up spring

Senior Hubenak has fierce competition from Starkel, Mond

COLLEGE STATION — Texas A&M football is king in the Brazos Valley, all except for one weekend.

When the Aggies’ rebellious, wayward brother shows up annually in Snook, 13 miles southwest of Kyle Field. The prodigal one they call Chilifest.

“We’re in competition,” A&M coach Kevin Sumlin said with a smile of A&M football vs. a massive music festival on the grass and dirt in Burleson County. “I’ve never been out there, but I’ve seen what happened the next day (to attendees).”

Sumlin added with a wink and a chuckle late last week, “That’s probably one reason why we’re practicing Friday night.”

While Chilifest, headlined this year by old Southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd, drew an estimated 40,000-plus fans Friday night and Saturday afternoon on the other side of the Brazos River, Sumlin’s “Friday Night Lights” drew a decent crowd of more than 5,000 at Kyle Field.

“It’s really the biggest scrimmage we have,” Sumlin said, including Saturday’s annual Maroon & White game at Kyle Field. “The spring game is on TV.”

Meaning Friday’s festivities, when no scrimmage video from fans or media was allowed, is the closest thing observers will see to what the Aggies trot out Sept. 3 at UCLA in their season opener.

“It’s an evaluation process for us,” Sumlin said of players competing for starting slots going after one another with abandon — with only quarterbacks off-limits on tackling. Freshmen show promise

A big part of that evaluation process is finding a starting quarterback, following the one-year run of Trevor Knight, who hopes to be drafted by an NFL team this month. Knight transferred from Oklahoma a year ago and led the Aggies to an 8-5 finish.

Senior Jake Hubenak trotted out first Friday, but even Chilifest revelers who had zero football on the brain this weekend realize Hubenak has a fight on his hands to win the starting gig.

His competition is redshirt freshman Nick Starkel and true freshman Kellen Mond, and for the first time fans got a long look at the latter two in game action for A&M. The result? Hubenak looked the part of steady senior; Starkel and Mond lived up to their respective scouting reports.

Starkel showcased a strong arm and, following an uneven first half, settled in and turned in an overall solid scrimmage. Mond, a five-star, dual-threat recruit who graduated early from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., relied on his legs to move the ball.

Mond’s scrambling ability appeared more elusive than if defenders were able to draw a bead on him on the run, but it was evident rushing will be a generous part of his game. All in all, the race at quarterback appeared more wide-open than ever with spring drills wrapping up in less than a week. Watts, Ausbon stand out

But the scrimmage’s most valuable players weren’t at quarterback, as senior safety Armani Watts turned in two interceptions, including one on the goal line, and freshman receiver Jhamon Ausbon appeared primed to take over one of the starting jobs.

The Aggies lost record-setter Josh Reynolds and his fellow receivers Speedy Noil and Ricky Seals-Jones from last year’s team, the latter two choosing to bypass their senior seasons in the hopes of getting drafted.

On one 80-yard play along the left sideline, Ausbon had trouble gathering the initial deep pass from Starkel in a battle with veteran cornerback Priest Willis, but had the wherewithal to snag the juggled ball before it hit the grass and keep running at full speed.

The Aggies also repeatedly threw to a handful of tight ends across the middle, in an effort to re-establish that position in the offense under second-year coordinator Noel Mazzone.

Defensively, the Aggies lost starting cornerback Nick Harvey to an undisclosed leg injury in the first half, and Kemah Siverand’s transition to cornerback from receiver appears to be progressing smoothly.

A big part of “Friday Night Lights” was the presence of some of the state’s top recruits, who, along with the fans, were treated to a pyrotechnics show following the scrimmage.

A DJ played music over the Kyle Field speakers throughout the scrimmage — and it’s a safe bet not one of the contemporary songs aimed at recruits was playing on stage over in Snook.

“The theme is really about high school football in the state of Texas,” Sumlin said. The other theme? “It’s Not Chilifest.”