Assessing Texas A&M’s QB room after Conner Weigman’s season-ending injury

The QB room took a blow with the loss of Conner Weigman, but they are well prepared with veteran Max Johnson

What Aggie fans thought was more of a 3-4-week injury for Conner Weigman turned out to be season-ending. It was officially announced Wednesday morning that Conner Weigman’s ankle injury is on a weight-bearing bone that will have him out for months instead of weeks.

Veteran southpaw Max Johnson becomes the Aggies’ starting quarterback with Conner out for the remainder of the season. Johnson is more than capable of leading this team and has shown it multiple times since he arrived on campus. He will also be an excellent resource for Weigman as he navigates his injury, as Johnson’s season was cut short last year due to a hand injury, allowing Wiegman to finish the season as the starting QB.

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Max was the obvious choice when Weigman went down, but the next question was a little bit of a mystery. Who will back up Max? The two choices that appeared as front runners on paper are sophomore Fresno State transfer Jaylen Henderson and true freshman Marcel Reed.

Henderson is an interesting option and has some action against ULM this year, but he only has five games under his belt after two years with the Bulldogs. However, he is a dual-threat athlete with good size, standing at 6’3″ and 220 pounds.

The other option would be true freshman Marcel Reed. He is a long shot for two reasons. First, a few other QBs, like Henderson, are on the roster. Jimbo might try so they do not have to put any games against Reed’s redshirt. Second, he needs to get bigger and stronger for SEC play, as he is currently 6’2″ but 180 pounds. The talent is undeniable, with the four-star prospect being named Mr. Football in Tennessee and leading his team to multiple state championships.

We aren’t going to leave you hanging, though, because Jimbo has already decided to go with Jaylon Henderson as the primary backup going forward. That doesn’t mean we won’t see Reed this season, but if everything works out as Jimbo hopes, Reed can continue to sit, grow, and make a push for playing times next season.

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