Haynes King named Texas A&M’s starting QB

Just like last year, Texas A&M Quarterback Haynes King entered fall camp in a battle to be the Aggies’ starting QB. And just like last year, Head Coach Jimbo Fisher announced King as the winner of that QB battle. This decision sorts one query in whether the Aggies go over the DraftKings Sportsbook total of 8.5 wins in 2022.

In 2021, King was the blue chip QB battling a three-star veteran who virtually nobody gave a legitimate chance at winning the job. It was a QB battle seemingly in name only, with King always assumed to be the prohibitive favorite.

Fast forward to 2022, and King, a junior from Longview, had much more of a competition on his hands. While he held the upper hand as far as experience, having been on campus since January 2020, many believed LSU transfer Max Johnson was the favorite going into fall camp. Johnson, after all, had almost a full season under his belt as an SEC starter, has the size advantage (he’s 6’5”), an NFL pedigree (the son of Brad Johnson), and many felt Johnson had the superior performance in Texas A&M’s spring game. Add in the arrival of talented five-star true freshman Connor Weigman (a January enrollee as well), and the Aggies had no shortage of viable QB options.

But King, now fully healthy following the leg injury that cost him all but 4.5 quarters of his 2021 season, reportedly separated himself throughout fall camp. As you would expect, King’s knowledge of Jimbo Fisher’s offensive system means he can make pre-snap reads with more ease, and go through his progressions more decisively. Add in King’s notorious mobility, and you have the recipe for your starting QB.

King will now helm an offense that, while loaded with talent, has a lot of questions to answer following a very lackluster performance in 2021. The hope is that if King can bring improved QB play, combined with a much more experienced offensive line, the offense can be more explosive, score more points, and take A&M from good to great in 2022 and beyond.

We’ll get a look at just how different this offense may look in just seven short days, as the Aggies open the season against the Sam Houston State Bearkats at 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 3.

Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.