Texas A&M football’s four-year starting quarterback Kellen Mond has departed for the NFL Draft, leaving big shoes to fill for his replacement.
On Saturday, April 24, A&M played its annual spring Maroon & White game, showcasing the three main prospects that may step up to replace Mond. Sophomore Zach Calzada, redshirt freshman Haynes King and new recruit Eli Stowers all saw a solid number of reps.
“Everybody is worried about the quarterback, that’s the least thing I’m worried about,” A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said. “[I’m not] worried about the quarterback, I’m worried about the pieces around them. I think they’re making tremendous progress right now. They’ve got to get better without a doubt, but it’s always hard.”
For King, who served as Mond’s backup for the 2020 season and received reps in two games, he started the game with the Maroon Team that had most of the starting lineup.
While King established his game quickly and used his athleticism to throw outside of the pocket, he stalled out on several drives due to incompletions or dropped passes. King attempted 31 passes on the day and completed 16 with one interception to 211 passing yards and one touchdown.
“Go back and watch how [King] threw the football,” Fisher said. “He had four or five dropped balls in the first half that would have put us in great scoring range and been great plays. I love his athleticism, but I think he’s throwing the ball very well too.”
Dropped passes plagued A&M offenses on the day, as King, Calzada, Stowers and even some more players had accurate passes fall to the turf. Calzada, who served as Mond’s first backup before the arrival of King, attempted 40 passes on the day and completed 19. Receiving reps for both the Maroon Team and the White Team, he totalled 253 yards with one interception and one touchdown.
“I thought Calzada had a great command of what he did,” Fisher said. “He was accurate with the ball, threw it decisively. Had drops on him too. I was very pleased with him, I thought Zach had an outstanding day.”
For the new blood on campus, Stowers received fewer reps than the more established shot-callers. Despite this, he still showed his talents, and 3-of-11 of his passes and gained 32 yards on the ground while being sacked twice.
“Eli came in and did a good job,” Fisher said. “We’ve got to throw the ball better, get a little bit better there. But he knows what he’s doing. He’s young, he’s got to get reps. He’s very athletic and I think he has a chance to be a really good player”
Three other players received limited reps under center during the day. New recruit Cooper McCollum, junior transfer from Hawaii Zach Daniel, and junior Reinard Britz all saw a glimpse of the action. Daniel threw a deep touchdown pass into the hands of his receiver but shared the pain of other Aggie quarterbacks for the day as it was dropped.
“They work hard to be able to go in the game,” Fisher said. “Those guys can throw the football. One of them should have been a long touchdown pass but I think we dropped one that was about a 50 or 60-yard throw. Those guys can all play, we’re just pretty gifted [at quarterback] right now.”