Quarterback Conner Weigman went down with a left ankle injury in the second quarter against the Tigers and limped to the locker room just before halftime. Junior Max Johnson came in under center to begin the third quarter. ESPN sideline reporter Kris Budden said that Weigman was shouting in pain on the sidelines while being looked over by team trainers. A&M coach Jimbo Fisher indicated on Monday that Weigman is day-to-day and he's more than comfortable with Johnson spelling Weigman if he has to on Saturday.
“You have two guys, guys I’ve said from the beginning I’ve felt very confident with,” Fisher said. “(Johnson) came in and played excellent football and did a great job. He made plays and really led us through the game.”
Weigman was 8-for-14 for 70 yards in almost a complete first half, starting 7-of-8 before closing the opening frame 1-for-6. This season through three games, Weigman has completed 70.48 percent of his 105 pass attempts for 909 yards with eight touchdowns and two interceptions.
Based on the way things looked on Saturday against Auburn, Fisher has no reason to worry about Johnson starting. As a matter of fact, he might prefer it.
The Aggies' offense sputtered tremendously in the first half behind Weigman. A&M scored just six points in the first quarter and were blanked in the second. Players looked out of sync and plays appeared slow to develop at times.
A&M also suffered three false start penalties in the first half behind Weigman, with two coming on one drive that set the Aggies back out of the red zone setting up the second field goal rather than an opportunity for a touchdown.
In the second half, the offense looked like a different beast with Johnson at the helm. Johnson posted 21 points while completing 7 of 11 passes for 123 yards. Johnson looked more comfortable than Weigman did and was much more effective.
Weigman is clearly the QB1 for A&M, but Fisher and Petrino need to figure out why Johnson performed so much better on Saturday. Especially if the offense thrives behind Max against the Razorbacks.
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