Mond revels in ‘culture-changing’ victory
COLLEGE STATION — Texas A&M senior quarterback Kellen Mond isn’t one for grandiosity, so his sentiment after the No. 21Aggies’ 41-38 upset of No. 4 Florida on Saturday at Kyle Field seemed genuine.
“I feel like it can be a culture-changing win,” Mond said.
To be sure, the Aggies (2-1) kept themselves planted firmly in the early SEC race thanks in part to Mond’s second consecutive solid showing against a topfive opponent.
Mond completed 25of-35 passes for 338 yards and three touchdowns, while also providing his usual calming hand to an offense and program in need of as much after Florida leaped to a 28-17 lead in the third quarter, primarily because of a rash of mental miscues by A & M defenders.
“This should give the team more confidence, especially with a lot of the young guys we have, knowing we can build on this,” Mond said. “It’s Week 3, and we’ve still got a long way to go. I’m excited about that part.”
Mond’s teammates also were excited that he became the program’s leader in career passing yards with 8,224, supplanting Jerrod Johnson (8,011 from 2007 to 2010), and they presented Mond with a game ball in the locker room afterward.
“Kellen is always a leader, no matter what game it is. You hear him on the sideline saying, ‘Let’s go!’ and he’s always keeping everyone together,” A&M linebacker Buddy Johnson said. “He’s a great player who understands his leadership role, and he’s continued to keep working.
“He’s all about the grind, and it’s awesome him being our quarterback.”
Mond also has endured plenty of outside criticism along the way, much of it unfair, for not having the Aggies in contention for a title in his three previous seasons as starter.
“(Kellen) played a very good game and made critical plays at critical moments on third down. We were 12-of-15 on third-down conversions, which is amazing,” said A&M third-year coach Jimbo Fisher, who said any criticism of Mond was misplaced.
“That’s the world we live in. … They love you and they criticize you,” Fisher said. “That’s part of our world today with social media, and you’ve got to block it out.
“Eliminate the clutter, go play and believe in yourself.”
Florida quarterback Kyle Trask, who backed up D’Eriq King at Manvel High, entered Saturday’s game with more notoriety than Mond after throwing 10 touchdown passes in his first two games.
While Trask had a good game against the Aggies (23of-32 for 312 yards and four touchdowns) he failed to pull out a victory in the stadium he was named for by his parents, who are both Aggies.
“It’s really frustrating to be that close,” Trask said. “There was a point in the game where we almost had it locked away. We’ve just got to be able to put our foot down and put the game away … so things like this won’t happen.”
While Trask walked away from Kyle Field wondering what might have been, Mond tucked away the game ball for safekeeping. Asked his plans for the treasured leather, Mond smiled.
“Keeping it forever,” he said.
Mond also turned in a solid showing last weekend at No. 2 Alabama in the Aggies’ 52-24 loss, throwing three touchdown passes to go with a lone interception.
“I think about all these coaches that I’ve had and all these players that I’ve played with,” Mond said when asked what the A&M passing yards record means to him. “I plan to continue to move forward, and plan to continue to push these new guys.”