Three Pressing Questions Facing Aggies Football This Spring

As the Aggies look to get back on track after last season, these questions will need to be answered this spring.

The Texas A&M Aggies will almost certainly be one of college football's most intriguing teams in 2023. 

They are fresh off a 5-7 season after being proclaimed a serious contender in the SEC throughout the offseason and will be looking to wash that taste out of their mouth. Doing so, of course, will be easier said than done. 

Adding to the intrigue is the offseason hire of Bobby Petrino to be Jimbo Fisher's new offensive coordinator, with the question being raised of who will be calling plays in the fall. 

On paper, this is a roster that should produce a team that is in the hunt for an SEC championship appearance all season long, even if they don't ultimately make it. Of course, games aren't played on paper and the time is now for the Aggies to start stacking wins again.

As they look to right the ship after a woeful 2022 season, here are three pressing questions facing the Aggies this offseason. 

Can Rueben Owens replace Devon Achane?

If you watched any football that the Aggies played last season then it was not hard to see how bad the offense was. The Aggies averaged a mere 22.8 points per game, which was 101st out of 131 FBS teams, on just 360.9 yards of total offense. Simply put, the offense was not good. 

However, while the offense was hard to watch, the lone bright spot was running back Devon Achane. In just 10 games Achane rushed for a team-high 1,102 yards and eight touchdowns while adding 196 receiving yards and three touchdowns on 36 receptions. 

Replacing Achane will be hard but necessary for the Aggies. However, freshman Rueben Owens might just be that guy. In his final season, he received 213 carries for 1,781 yards and 25 touchdowns while catching nine passes for 123 yards and another score. If he can match that production for the Aggies then the ground game won't miss a beat with the departure of Achane. 

Can Conner Weigman take the next step? 

While Achane was the engine for the Aggies offense in 2022, the quarterback position left a lot to be desired. Haynes King saw the most action, throwing for 1,220 yards with seven touchdowns and six interceptions in six appearances on the season. Again, though, much like Achane there was a lone bright spot at the position. 

That bright spot? Freshman quarterback Conner Weigman. Now a sophomore, Weigman showed flashes of being a quarterback that Fisher and Petrino will be able to build an offense around this season - an offense that hopefully puts up far more points. 

In five games Weigman threw for 896 yards and eight touchdowns with no interceptions while completing 55.3 percent of his passes. He was only 324 yards and 0.2 behind King while being more protective of the ball, in one less game. There were some growing pains, but if he can take that next step then this Aggies offense could look drastically different in 2023. 

How hot is Jimbo Fisher's seat?

Every single college football offseason is filled with various articles, from preseason rankings to which teams are actual contenders. Among those articles are the pieces debating which coaches should be on the hot seat, and just how hot their seat should be. 

Whether he deserves to be or not, Fisher is a coach that has found himself on various hot seat lists this offseason. In his five seasons at the helm for Texas A&M, he has won less than eight games just once, which was the aforementioned disappointing 5-7 2022 season. 

However, while Fisher has consistently put the Aggies in bowl games and won said bowl games, that's been the peak so far. He has yet to lead the Aggies to a conference championship appearance in his five seasons. If he again fails to do so this season or comes close to matching last season's record, it could be a long season in College Station. 

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You can find Connor Zimmerlee on Twitter @Connorjz98

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