Trevor Knight is a band-aid, not a savior, for Texas A&M
By JC Shurburtt
Published:
What is Texas A&M going to do at quarterback next season?
That’s the question you have to ask for the Aggies. There are three possibilities:
- Music City Bowl starter Jake Hubenak ends up being the guy.
- Trevor Knight transfers in from Oklahoma and ends up being the guy.
- Texas A&M flips in-state Alabama commit Jalen Hurts, he enrolls this coming semester, wins the job in spring practice and is the guy.
Hubenak and/or Hurts are both capable and intriguing, but the Knight possibility has gotten the majority of the buzz.
If that does happen, however, he could be more band-aid than savior.
The Aggies have had a rough run with quarterbacks this offseason, losing two touted five-star types in Kyle Allen and Kyler Murray (who ironically transferred to Oklahoma). It was not as if either was short on talent — the reasons for transferring for each had little to do with their ability. So with that, it’s difficult to make up for the loss of that type of talent right away if you are the Aggies. Literally the program that had one of the best situations at signal caller in the Southeastern Conference now has one of the worst.
So enter Knight, the star-crossed Sooner who has had moments of brilliance (like the Sugar Bowl against Alabama after the 2013 season when he was 32-of-44 for 348 yards) and many more moments of mediocrity. Knight was a less-than-ideal 5-of-16 in Oklahoma’s 30-29 win against TCU this season. In last year’s Russell Athletic Bowl against Clemson, he threw three interceptions, went 17-of-37 and only mustered 103 passing yards.
It’s not that he’s an incapable athlete or quarterback. But the scheme that the Aggies run makes you question if this has a chance to be successful.
The scouting report on Knight is that he’s an erratic passer with good athleticism in the run game. The run game part of it could be quite helpful for A&M as mobile quarterback + tempo offense = defensive kryptonite at times in the Southeastern Conference.
But given that one of the strengths of the Texas A&M roster is at wide receiver — it includes a bunch of star-quality players at the position — an up-and-down passer could severely limit the Aggies offense. That’s regardless of the X factor of Knight’s running (we saw that a bit in a 26-10 loss to Auburn this season with Murray). At worst it could turn into a disaster.
When you run tempo offense and you have a plethora of three-and-outs due to an inaccurate passer, things get precarious. Your defense, no matter how talented, gets worn out quickly. It’s a lot easier for opposing teams to gash you and put points on the board.
Knight’s track record in the passing department should concern Texas A&M.
Granted, there is precedent for quarterbacks to find new life through transfer. Jeff Driskel didn’t have the issues at Louisiana Tech this season that he had at Florida. That’s one recent example. But at face value, the Aggies are going from an “A” situation at the most important position on the field to a “C plus” with Knight.
For a program and coaching staff that is not just looking to go bowling in the state of Tennessee as it has the last two seasons, that’s not a sign of progress. Texas A&M has the talent to contend for the SEC West. That’s an extremely reasonable expectation considering the players on campus in College Station and one that will be nearly impossible to meet without great quarterback play.
Here’s hoping for the fans of Texas A&M and for Sumlin that Knight, if he indeed does end up at A&M, has a resurgence and plays up to his potential every game. If that happens, then the dramatic departures of Allen and Murray may not even be relevant. Based on Knight’s career so far, though, it’s not something to bet the farm on.
Recruiting writer for Saturday Down South
