Few coaches across college football win offseasons quite like Jimbo Fisher. The Texas A&M coach shocked the sport by reeling in the No. 1 recruiting class of all time -- his first No. 1 class -- capped off by adding five-star defensive lineman Lebbeus Overton as a late commitment last week. Finishing No. 1 was an exclamation point on four elite years of recruiting.
Bringing the top class to College Station, Texas, immediately dials up the expectations. Every No. 1 overall recruiting class in the 247Sports Composite since 2011 has won a national championship within four years, not yet counting the historic 2021 Alabama class that reached the national championship game as freshmen.
However, the position battle that could define the legacy of this group is already underway as three young Aggies compete for the starting quarterback job. All three will be on display in Texas A&M's annual Maroon & White Spring Game on Saturday.
After three years of solid quarterback play under Kellen Mond, the Aggies' quarterback play fell off a cliff in 2021. Third-year quarterback Zach Calzada completed just 56.1 % of his passes for 2,185 yards and a passer rating of 123.7, ahead of only the two-headed QB duo at Vanderbilt among SEC signal-callers. Texas A&M, as a team, ranked bottom-three among SEC squads in passing yards per game, yards per attempt and completion percentage. The Aggies were the most disappointing team in the nation after their Orange Bowl victory.
Calzada entered the transfer portal after the tumultuous season and ended up at Auburn, leaving the battle wide open. However, the roster returns just 46 career pass attempts in a maroon uniform. Here's a look at the three candidates battling it out this spring for the right to man the Texas A&M offense.
Haynes King: The sophomore won the starting job out of camp in 2021 and took first-team reps in fall and spring 2021. He threw three interceptions against Kent State before suffering a lower-leg injury in the first drive against Colorado. King is a dynamic athlete and perhaps the best runner of the group. Having experience in the offense is an edge.
Max Johnson: The LSU transfer is intriguing for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that Fisher has started only one transfer quarterback in his career -- Everett Golson at Florida State in 2015 before Golson was replaced by homegrown Sean Maguire. Johnson had thrown for nearly 4,000 yards with 35 touchdowns in 18 appearances on a chaotic Tigers squad. Stepping into a stable Texas A&M offensive system could help him maximize his game.
Conner Weigman: The early-enrollee is the wild card of the bunch. Weigman rated as the nation's No. 2 quarterback recruit and a consensus five-star. He rates as the Aggies' best quarterback recruit since Kyle Allen in 2014 and has stuck around in the competition in his first spring since moving up from Cypress (Texas) Bridgeland. Fisher raves about his quick release and fundamentals.
Texas A&M will likely not name a starting quarterback out of spring camp, especially with three impressive passers competing for reps. However, Fisher sees the spring game as an opportunity to simulate aspects of live competition.
"It's one of the next steps," Fisher told reporters. "People in the stands, things go on, coaches not out there holding your hands, can you manage, can you function, can you run, can you do all the things you have to do. In that regard, it's the next step in the progression of where you're going. To see how the team reacts to you, I think it's a big thing."
Running the matchup like a true spring game will help project some of those traits. The Aggies will play four quarters and captains will draft two teams. With so much talent in College Station after four consecutive top-eight classes, every spot is up for grabs.
Three years ago, Texas A&M reeled in an elite top-five class. With the experienced Mond leading the way in 2020, then-sophomores like defensive lineman DeMarvin Leal, offensive guard Kenyon Green, tight end Jalen Wydermyer and running back Isaiah Spiller led the Aggies to their first major bowl victory since Johnny Manziel's Heisman season in 2012.
With so many proven stars back, the Aggies started the season No. 6 in the Preseason AP Top 25 and were a popular College Football Playoff pick. Instead, the Aggies finished 8-4 and 4-4 in the conference for the sixth time in the last nine seasons thanks to the anemic passing game.
Recruiting the best defensive line class of all time will put Texas A&M into the race for a national championship. Adding five-star receivers like Chris Marshall and Evan Stewart will help. Returning two FWAA Freshman All-Americans on the offensive line will help. Until the Aggies can develop a passing game to keep up with the likes of Alabama, Ohio State and Clemson consistently, they won't enter the national elite.
The transfer portal means that quarterback rooms at high-major schools have a certain level of impermanence, but spring 2022 features the most complete quarterback room since Fisher got to Texas A&M. The star-studded recruiting class will be ready to compete for national championships by 2023, if not sooner.
Texas A&M can't afford to play transfer portal roulette again in 2023 -- the quarterback who will lead the Aggies into national contention is on campus right now. Whether the highly-rated staff can find and develop the next star will ultimately determine whether this class joins the last 10 in winning college football's ultimate prize.
