Texas A&M opened its 2023 season with a dominant 52-10 win over New Mexico.

Jimbo Fisher’s squad needed that performance Saturday, even if it was just against New Mexico. It was not perfect by any means, but the growth of Conner Weigman is obvious and it’s plain to see the Aggies have taken a step forward.

To what extent? That still may be unknown. We’ll know for sure next week when the Aggies take on Miami in south Florida.

For now, here are 3 takeaways from A&M’s strong opening W.

Conner Weigman could provide some much-needed stability at QB

We’re going to say this a lot: Yes, it was just New Mexico. But anyone who watched knows this was made apparent very quickly – Conner Weigman can make some plays.

Weigman’s start was incredible. Keeping to the theme of SEC West quarterbacks succeeding in 2023’s Week 1 (See: KJ Jefferson, Jaxson Dart, Jalen Milroe, Will Rogers, etc), Weigman threw for 236 yards with 5 touchdowns, completing 18 of his 23 passes on the evening. 5 touchdowns is a career high for Weigman.

I don’t care who they’re playing, that’s impressive. It wasn’t just dink and dunk passes either: Weigman had touchdowns of 34, 35 and 15 yards Saturday.

Here’s his final score of the evening before being pulled in the 3rd quarter:

Incredibly, Weigman has yet to throw an interception at Texas A&M. He threw for 8 touchdowns and 0 picks last season.

Points!

Here’s a list of numbers for you: 31, 14 and 20. Care to take a guess where those numbers came from?

Anyone who guessed “Texas A&M’s point totals in non-conference games last season,” you’re correct! It’s no secret that Texas A&M struggled to put points on the board last season, and the biggest question heading into 2023 was this: Can Jimbo Fisher and Co. create some semblance of an offense?

Enter Bobby Petrino. The former Arkansas and Louisville HC joined the Aggies this offseason as its next OC, a move that already looks to be paying dividends. You’ve heard about Weigman’s strong start, but the Aggies also rushed the ball well Saturday, finishing with 134 yards with 1 touchdown and an average of 4.6 yards per carry.

It may be more of a detriment to last year’s squad, but Texas A&M’s point total of 49 is more than any game last season. Incredibly, it’s the most Texas A&M has scored in a single game since November 20, 2021, where the Aggies also scored 52 against Prairie View A&M.

Max Johnson looked good in relief of Weigman, too. The 2 Aggies combined to throw for 277 yards and 6 touchdowns.

Josh DeBerry could be a dude for this defense

Josh DeBerry, a transfer defensive back from Boston College, had quite the College Station debut against the Lobos.

DeBerry was the leading tackler of the day for A&M, also adding an interception, 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack. He finished with 10 tackles on the evening.

This throw was an absolute duck, but check out the first INT of Texas A&M’s season – courtesy of DeBerry – below: