Max Johnson vs. Conner Weigman: Quarterback Play Key In Texas A&M Maroon - White Spring Game
The 2023 Aggies took the field on Saturday for the annual maroon & white spring game.
It was the last chance to check out this year's edition of the Aggies before the fall, and all eyes were on the 11 early enrollees for A&M as well as the quarterback position to see who might make an early impact.
In last year's spring maroon and white game, the quarterback play was nothing short of laughable, and that was a prelude to what we saw in the regular season. The Aggies struggled on offense and specifically at the quarterback position all year long.
Enter 2023's edition of the spring game.
The quarterback play looked much improved. Conner Weigman and Max Johnson will be battling it out for the starting role this year and both were featured prominently on Saturday. Johnson started by leading the white squad while Weigman led the maroon team.
Both players started off poised and confident. Two things that were missing from last year's edition of this game at the quarterback position.
Johnson threw a 52-yard touchdown pass to wideout Micah Tease on the white team's first possession. Johnson finished that first drive 2-of-2 for 59 yards and a touchdown.
Johnson stayed cool and calm all day under pressure from the defense, and his poise no doubt gained him favor in the eyes of coach Jimbo Fisher.
Weigman started the game hot, just as Johnson did, but as the game wore on he started making poor throws and poor decisions. That comes with experience. Which Johnson has, and Weigman doesn't.
That's not to say Weigman played poorly at any point of the game, but his decision-making seemed to suffer the longer the game went on. In all fairness, the defense turned up the pressure near the end of the game with more blitzes, leaving Weigman less time for decisions.
In the fourth quarter, Weigman played a series for the white team and absolutely shined.
Starting from the 35, Weigman ran for 13 yards, then hit tight end Fernando Garza across the middle for 13 more. On a 3rd and 10 from the defensive 33, Weigman hit Micah Tease for 10 yards to extend the drive.
On the very next play Weigman hit wideout Pierce Turner for a 23-yard touchdown with an absolutely perfectly placed ball.
Both quarterbacks showed they have something for 2023, and it'll be up to coach Fisher to figure out who will start before September. Will it be the experienced and cool Johnson? Or the mobile gunslinger Weigman?
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