Quarterback Questions May Have Texas A&M Too High

Razorbacks should be ranked higher because KJ better than Aggies' alternatives

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — When Auburn kicked Gus Malzahn out, Texas A&M's Jimbo Fisher moved to the top of the over-rated list in the SEC.

The fact that the Aggies' coach backed into a national title when the other one couldn't manage the clock just proves why the old BCS formula was bad.

Thank goodness it was the final year of that thing.

Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher shown on the stage during SEC Media Days at the College Football Hall of Fame. (Dale Zanine / USA TODAY Sports)

Now we cycle around to all the preseason predictions this year that A&M is the third best team in the SEC.

So the so-called "experts" who talking heads and other media people have the Aggies right behind Alabama and Georgia in the pecking order of the league.

Without a proven quarterback. Nearly all of them say you have to be proven in that spot.

Arkansas' KJ Jefferson has more SEC experience than anybody the Aggies will trot out on the field.

Haynes King, Max Johnson and Connor Weigman are the projected starters and you'll have to look them up to get an opinion on them.

"I haven’t named a starting quarterback," Fisher said this week.

Even he admitted he may know already who's going to start, but he just doesn't want to say.

"When I’m ready," he said with a smile, which probably means he does know who he's starting. If he doesn't, he's running out of time to figure it out unless he wants to act like a junior high coach and decide who has the best pregame warmup and send him out first.

Even Tony Barnhart recognizes the questions A&M has at quarterback:

"They need to get more consistent play at quarterback, which is why 2021 starter Zach Calzada is now at Auburn. Haynes King, LSU transfer Max Johnson, and freshman Connor Weigman are the candidates. After finishing 4-4 in SEC play last season, this is a big year for Jimbo Fisher."

Exactly why there's so much pushing of A&M as the third best team in the league is guessing on the notion they have a wealth of young talent and an over-blown reputation of a West Virginia hillbilly.

Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback KJ Jefferson looks downfield during a practice Aug. 7, 2022, on the outdoor grass practice field at the football center in Fayetteville, Ark. (Andy Hodges / allHOGS Images)

He's right that there is a gaggle of teams in what has become the middle class of the SEC. About 10 to be exact and the Hogs are right there in that group, but where in there is anybody's guess in August.

The good news is we'll find out Sept. 24 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The Hogs open with Cincinnati and South Carolina before getting to kick former coach Bobby Petrino's Missouri State bunch around Razorback Stadium.

The Aggies have a couple of pushovers before getting a game against Miami in College Station that will be their first test of the season.

If both are 3-0 it will be the biggest game of that day.

We'll see if the best quarterback matters.

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