Texas A&M Aggies QB Max Johnson To Enter Transfer Portal

Max Johnson will leave Texas A&M after two seasons.

Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Max Johnson is expected to enter the transfer portal on Dec. 4 as a graduate transfer. The fourth-year redshirt sophomore will have two more years of eligibility at this next school. 

The news was first reported by 247Sports and later confirmed by Johnson on an Instagram post. 

Johnson, the son of former Super Bowl-winning quarterback Brad Johnson, joined the Aggies in 2022 after starting his career at LSU. After A&M struggled with Haynes King to begin the season, Johnson took over the starting job and impressed, throwing for 517 yards and three touchdowns. 

Johnson would have retained the starting position for the remainder of the regular season if not for a thumb injury suffered against Mississippi State in Week 5. That opened the door for Conner Weigman to garner first-team reps heading toward a 5-7 finish.

Weigman won the starting job over Johnson in fall camp, but suffered a season-ending lower-body injury in Week 4's win over Auburn. Johnson returned to the starting role for five games, completing 118-of-190 passes for 1,452 yards and nine touchdowns against five interceptions. 

Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Max Johnson (14) passes the ball against the Mississippi Rebels during the first half at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium / © Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

The injury bug struck Johnson a second time following a 38-35 loss to Ole Miss. Johnson was sidelined with a rib injury, thus opening the door for Jaylen Henderson. Henderson went 2-1 as a starter, throwing for 704 yards and six touchdowns against two interceptions. 

Despite the firing of Jimbo Fisher, A&M is expected to have back Weigman for the 2024 season. Henderson did more than enough during his tenure to be a serviceable backup. A&M also has 2023 four-star recruit Marcel Reed, who also is expected to return to College Station next fall. 

A&M, which currently ranks 10th in the On3 recruiting rankings, also have three-star quarterbacks Miles O'Neill and Anthony Maddox as part of its 2024 recruiting class. 

Johnson is the second A&M player to enter the portal. Following Fisher's dismissal, receiver Raymond Cotrell announced his intent to leave the program. 

Aggies WR Raymond Cottrell 1st to Announce Transfer After Jimbo Fisher Firing

In four seasons with LSU and Texas A&M, Johnson completed 60.5 percent of his throws for 5,853 yards and 47 touchdowns against 12 interceptions. 

Texas A&M is still looking to finalize a hire for its next coach before the end of the week. Candidates include Arizona's Jedd Fisch, Duke's Mike Elko, Ohio State's Ryan Day, and Kansas' Lance Leipold, among others.