College football sometimes makes strange bedfellows. Who could have imagined that one year ago, Texas A&M would become desperate for a frontline quarterback and even stranger still, find one from the most unlikely of sources?

But that’s the situation the Aggies find themselves in heading towards the 2016 season, a situation made easier by the transfer of graduated senior quarterback Trevor Knight from a Big 12 school they used to share affiliation with.

The former Oklahoma Sooner rode into town with leadership on his mind and a second chance to prove that the January 2014 Sugar Bowl was no fluke. That’s the game in which Knight went 32-for-44 with 348 yards and 4 touchdowns, including a pair of 40-yarders, as a freshman in Oklahoma’s 45-31 humbling of 16-point favorite Alabama.

The only other quarterback to complete at least 30 passes and toss four scores in a game against the Crimson Tide since the turn of the century? Clemson’s Deshaun Watson in last season’s national championship game.

That’s the form that has Aggie Nation cautiously optimistic about the upcoming season; the form that evolved (or really devolved) after that performance in the Superdome into a 2,300-yard, 14-touchdown passing season in 2014.

In fact, the next bowl game Knight played in turned out to be Knight’s worst performance of his career. He went 17-for-37 with 103 yards, 0 touchdowns and 3 interceptions in the humiliating 40-6 loss to the Tigers.

An experience-filled, up-and-down career at Oklahoma was one in which Knight couldn’t seem to rediscover what fueled his early breakout performance. Marred by injury and inconsistency, Knight eventually lost the starting role to a former walk-on in 2015. He threw 14 TDs and 12 interceptions in 2014 and threw as many picks (2) as touchdown passes a year later.

But with a fresh start under the new, up-tempo system being installed by first-year offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone, the hope is for a rejuvenated Knight to shine as brightly as ever.

He has certainly given hope where there was none following the transfer of two five-star quarterbacks.

But wait, there’s more.

From that same unlikely source comes yet another possible answer to a burning question. Tra Carson rushed for more than 1,000 yards in his senior season. Who could replace that with similar success? Who might be the next Aggie in line to break the 1,000-yard barrier?

There are many candidates for the job, and one of them also comes to College Station by way of Oklahoma. Another Sooner transfer, Keith Ford, could become the featured back in Mazzone’s scheme, which ironically despite its up-tempo approach is run-oriented.

Ford was in the backfield with Knight for that Sugar Bowl game. He wasn’t the starter but did see action as a freshman himself. Ford played in 10 games that season, then rushed for 392 yards and 5 touchdowns on 71 carries in 2014 as a sophomore.

That production came with only three starts while playing behind star Samaje Perine and Alex Ross.

Though he’s never rushed for 100 yards in one game – his career-high is 91 in a 2014 game vs. Oklahoma State – Ford has proven he is capable of being the guy. He averaged nearly six yards per carry in two seasons at Oklahoma as well as catching 11 passes for 140 yards and 1 touchdown.

The pair of former Sooners could provide the answers to two very big questions hanging over the Aggies’ heads as 2016 approaches.