Aggies’ QB situation as unsettled as ever
COLLEGE STATION — Texas A&M is gearing up for its first trip to Nashville, Tenn., as a Southeastern Conference member crooning a familiar tune: Who’s going to saddle up at quarterback for the Aggies?
Ten games into the season, A&M has little offensive identity, and even less of a starting quarterback, after coach Kevin Sumlin said Tuesday the job was (again) up for grabs between freshman Kyler Murray and sophomore Kyle Allen.
“We’ll evaluate where we are in practice,” Sumlin said during the weekly news conference. “We’ve had some good moments, some not so good moments (with both). We’re looking for consistency out of the position, and that’s what this week of practice will be about.
“We’ll name a starter as we get closer to game time.”
The Aggies (7-3, 3-3) play at Vanderbilt (4-6, 2-4) at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, facing an improving defense. The Commodores are coming off a home victory over Kentucky (21-17) and a close loss at No. 8 Florida (9-7) the week prior.
“Vanderbilt is in the top five in the major categories of defense,” Sumlin said. “It will be a challenge for us offensively.”
Flashes from Murray
Who will accept that challenge is apparently to be determined by the next couple of days of practice. Allen started the season’s first seven games but was benched after poor showings against Alabama and Mississippi.
Murray turned in a solid first start in the Aggies’ 3528 victory over South Carolina but labored mightily in A&M’s 26-10 loss to Auburn. He didn’t look much better last Saturday in bumpily guiding the Aggies past FCS foe Western Carolina 41-17.
Murray threw three touchdown passes and two interceptions (including an interception on a Hail Mary pass to close out the first half ), but at least three more of his passes were nearly intercepted. The Aggies led only 21-14 in the third quarter before pulling away from their overmatched opponent.
Murray, who led Allen High to three consecutive state titles the past three seasons, is best known for his scrambling and elusiveness. But offensive coordinator Jake Spavital said the plan against Western Carolina was for him to work on his pocket presence.
“The focus was to get him out there and play a complete game as a quarterback,” Spavital said. “I said, ‘I don’t want to see you running around out there the whole time; we know you’re a player, I want to see you operate the offense from the pocket.’ … I wanted him to work on going through his progressions, not just revert to his athletic ability.”
Allen gets a refresher
Allen also returned to action for the first time since his benching and played the fourth quarter against Western Carolina. He appeared much sharper than Murray, with more zip on his passes as he completed all six for 88 yards, including a 22-yard touchdown strike to Christian Kirk for A&M’s final score.
“There’s less pressure stepping in against an FCS opponent in the fourth quarter than there would be playing on the road against an SEC team,” Sumlin said of allowing Allen to try to get his feet back under him against a nonconference squad from a
lower division. “He’s gotten to step back and take a breath, and that may have helped him.”
A&M entered the SEC three years ago as a highoctane passing team that led the conference in total offense, but that has gone by the wayside with the departure of quarterback Johnny Manziel nearly two years ago. The lone bit of consistency as Sumlin continues trying to establish a new offensive identity is senior running back Tra Carson, who needs 136 yards to become the 11th player in school history to reach 1,000 rushing yards in a season.
“He’s setting the tone for us offensively,” Spavital said.
Unlike the quarterbacks, who are in a perpetual tussle just to see who will start next.