Texas A&M Head Coach Mike Elko Explains Reason For Starting Conner Weigman

In his return to the field, Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Conner Weigman passed for 276 yards on 18 of 22 passes with no touchdowns, but no turnovers either.

Oct 5, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Conner Weigman (15) passes the ball in the first half against the Missouri Tigers at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images. / Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

After three games of showing Mike Elko what he is capable of under center, Marcel Reed was put back on the bench in favor of Conner Weigman in Texas A&M's 41-10 blowout of the Missouri Tigers.

Many were against Elko's decision to put Weigman back in, but as it turns out, maybe it wasn't such a bad idea after all.

Weigman was almost perfect in his passing, throwing for 276 yards, with no touchdowns due to the prowess of the Aggie running game, which Weigman contributed 33 yards toward the team's 236 on the day.

While the Conner Weigman doubters took a seat this past weekend, others still wondered what prompted Elko to put his redshirted sophomore in after he missed the past three contests with a shoulder injury.

Elko's answer? A fully healthy Weigman gave the Aggies their best chance at a win.

"I think the conversation for us was, you know, we wanted to see Conner at 100%. We felt like Conner at 100 percent gave us our best chance to win," said Coach Elko. "If we felt like he was going to be there, that was the direction that we wanted to go."

Despite Weigman most likely getting the starting nod from here on out, Elko did not shy away from the impression that Reed made during his starts.

"Certainly, we had all the confidence in Marcel if that's the direction we chose or had to go as well," Elko said. "We felt like that was the way to go."

With SEC play in full swing now, Elko's dual option at quarterback could be just the edge that the Aggies need against the opposition, regardless of who starts.

Weigman will have his next shot at showing why he's deserving of the starting job when the Aggies visit Mississippi State on Saturday, Oct. 19.