You couldn’t ask for a more emphatic start to the college football season as Texas A&M dominated New Mexico to the tune of 52-10 in Week 1. While there were plenty of positives to take away from the victory, the quarterback play was one of the resounding triumphs.
Fresh off a 1-0 start to the Aggies’ 2023 rebound campaign, quarterback Conner Weigman notably filled up the box score with a plethora of plays in the pocket. In going 18/23 for 236 yards and five touchdowns, he became the first player in Aggie history to throw five touchdown passes in a season opener. Through early Sunday afternoon, Weigman also led the country in total QBR following A&M’s romp of New Mexico.
Achieving those milestones naturally warranted high praise and grades from the good folks over at Pro Football Focus. PFF takes a thorough look in focusing on data-driven analysis of NCAA Division I football teams and players. Through Week 1, it was a certain Aggies quarterback who ranked top 10 in a handful of quarterback categories.
As GigEm247’s Carter Karels noted, Weigman ranked top 10 nationally among quarterbacks in the following groups:
- ADOT (average depth of target)
- Offensive grade with no play-action
- Offensive grade when pressured
- Offensive grade when blitzed
- Offensive grade
- Passing grade
Texas A&M’s Conner Weigman ranks in the top 10 nationally among QBs in several PFF categories:
1. ADOT (14.8).
4. Offensive grade with no play-action (92.1).
5. Offensive grade (87.8) when pressured.
7. Offensive grade (91.8) when blitzed.
9. Offensive (91.9).
10. Passing (91.1)— Carter Karels (@CarterKarels) September 3, 2023
Offensive grade, passing grade, and offensive grade with no play-action are great diagnostic grades to assess any passer in college football. Aggie fans should be especially excited about Weigman’s top 10 grade in ADOT when pressured and when blitzed. As we noted in our takeaways from Week 1, Weigman came out firing, with most of his throws coming between the hash and the boundary or deep.
That speaks to the level of freedom Bobby Petrino has given to Weigman when in the pocket. The 12th Man would know best, but that level of aggression really hasn’t been seen since, perhaps, the days of Kellen Mond. Even then, Weigman has clearly been given the signal to let it fly when the matchup calls for it.
Weigman’s high grades, when pressured and blitzed, are incredibly encouraging as Texas A&M prepares to face stiffer competition down the line. His ability to throw under pressure was impressive, particularly when he found Noah Thomas despite taking a substantial hit right into the chest.
Not being unsettled in the pocket is just one of the many early traits that indicate Weigman is on his way toward being the game-changing quarterback this offense has needed to elevate itself to a new level.
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