Incumbent Weigman has edge in starting QB battle
First in a position-byposition series looking at the 2023 Texas A&M Aggies after spring football workouts.
Today: Quarterback Who’s back: Conner Weigman, sophomore; Max Johnson, junior; Blake Bost, junior. Who’s gone: Haynes King, Eli Stowers.
2023 signee: Marcel Reed (Nashville, Tenn.).
What to expect
Conner Weigman was the presumed starter headed into 2023 after he took over the job a little more than halfway through a 5-7 season.
Max Johnson, who had transferred to A&M from LSU last offseason, had briefly won the starting gig before he was sidelined by a broken hand in the Aggies’ 42-24 loss at
Mississippi State on Oct. 1.
Here’s the thing: Johnson, son of former Super Bowl champion quarterback Brad Johnson, is refusing to go away this offseason, and he’s expected to give Weigman a good battle for starting quarterback well into August.
Neither quarterback looked overly impressive in the Aggies’ spring game April 15, primarily thanks to dry offensive play-calling and a patchwork offensive line, but Johnson at least appeared every bit as good as Weigman in the contest.
A&M only used 65 yards of Kyle’s field, too, because of ongoing construction in the south end zone, so the setup was a little different than usual this time of year and lent to the awkwardness of the entire scene.
Weigman, a five-star signee out of Bridgeland
High School in the class of 2022, at times looked solid last season (seasonending win over LSU) and other times like a wideeyed true freshman (loss at Auburn).
Because Max Johnson, a natural leader, has been around the block in the SEC as a starter at LSU and A&M, he might still be the best option for the Aggies to win at Miami on Sept. 9 — what is shaping up as a “must win” for the Jimbo Fisher tenure following the surprising losing season in 2022.
Fisher lost a lot of credibility in his ongoing ability to evaluate quarterbacks when he insisted on moving forward with Haynes King over Johnson and even Weigman as the starter in 2022. A largely ineffective King has since transferred to Georgia Tech, and backup scholarship quarterback Eli Stowers (now at New
Mexico State) also has exited the program.
Weigman (6-foot-2, 215 pounds) is perhaps a better overall athlete than Johnson (6-5, 230), but the two looked quite similar in the spring game, and Johnson holds a decided edge in experience with 17 starts between LSU and A&M. Weigman has four starts.
The quarterback battle is one of two main things for fans to keep an eye on in the summer, along with the dynamic between Fisher and new offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino, presumed to be taking over the play-calling.
Projected depth chart
1. Conner Weigman
2. Max Johnson
3. Marcel Reed
4. Blake Bost