Aggies Prepping for Multiple Quarterbacks in Oklahoma State Offense
HOUSTON, Texas - Texas A&M shouldn't feel disheartened at the thought of watching extra film. Earlier this season, the Aggies would face Ole Miss, a team known for using a two-quarterback system in Matt Corral and John Rhys Plumlee.
In the 2019 Texas Bowl, A&M could see a similar look from Oklahoma State. Cowboys coach Mike Gundy announced the team would play both freshman Spencer Sanders and graduate transfer Dru Brown under center during the game.
"We played quite a few of them during the year. Mississippi State. Mississippi State runs their quarterback," A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said. "They can run and throw. All they do. Ole Miss can throw it and run it."
Sanders, a freshman from Denton, Texas, initially won the starting job over Brown, a transfer from Hawaii. The 6-2 newbie threw for 2,065 yards and 16 touchdowns on his way to a 7-3 record.
Sanders would leave with a thumb injury against Kansas. He would undergo surgery on his throwing hand and was expected to miss the remainder of the season.
Brown, who threw for 2,875 yards during his final season with the Rainbow Warriors, would enter for the Cowboys as the next man up. He would go 1-1 as a starter, defeating West Virginia before falling to Oklahoma in the Battle of Bedlam.
In five games, Brown would throw for 626 yards and five touchdowns. Gundy announced Thursday he was voted as a team captain amongst the Cowboys' players.
"He's been awesome," Gundy said of the senior. "For the team to have enough respect for him to vote him captain when he's really only played in a couple games says a lot about him."
Playing in the Southeastern Conference, the Aggies could have seen mobile quarterbacks for the better half of a decade. Fisher has worked with dual-threat players, including A&M starting quarterback Kellen Mond.
Prepping for the inevitable, Fisher isn't concerned with the multiple schemes his defense could see. In the SEC, it's accustomed to seeing even those pocket-passer make plays with their legs to keep drives alive.
"Joe Burrow, was a great runner too now," Fisher said. "You don't think about all the athleticism he has. And Tua (Tagovailoa), you don't think about Tua, but Tua, they'll have designed runs for him occasionally, but he has the ability to scramble and make plays. Auburn, with (Bo) Nix, that whole thing. That's just become football today.”
For the season, Sanders has rushed for 625 yards and two touchdowns. The Cowboys will also feature one of the nation's top backs in Chuba Hubbard, who led the NCAA with 1,936 rushing yards this year.
