For the longest time, head football coaches were known to be staunchly conservative, especially early in the season. Playing it close to the vest in the season opener used to be a given, certainly in the instance where one team was superior over another.

The philosophy was simple: Don’t put on film anything you don’t want the remainder of your scheduled opponents to scout and prepare for. Made sense, why give away the secrets to your success if you don’t absolutely have to.

But that was back when defense and a solid run game ruled college football. Things have changed. A wide-open passing game has replaced the 3-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust offense that once, in the not too distant past, ruled the sport.

Still, you don’t want to show all your cards in the first game – definitely not against an opponent like Kent State, that man-for-man simply doesn’t match up talent-wise to that of the Aggies, who are around 28-point favorites to open the 2021 season successfully.

That’s the decision facing Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher as he prepares Haynes King for his first collegiate start on Saturday in Kyle Field. Does he let the supremely talented redshirt freshman loose or does he pull in the reins, play conservatively, get his feet wet and come away with a confidence-building victory?

Fisher has 3 games to prepare King for his first SEC matchup, a Sept. 25 meeting with Arkansas at Jerry World in Arlington. How he uses them in regards to King’s preparation should be interesting to watch. How he uses King in those games will reveal much about what he thinks of his high school Under Armour All-American, 4-star recruit.

Don’t overlook the fact that Fisher is very much an old-school type of coach. That very well could factor into what we see from King in Saturday’s opener as well as following nonconference games with Colorado and New Mexico.

As head coach at Florida State, Fisher introduced Jameis Winston to the college football world in 2013. That schedule looked quite similar to the Aggies’ this year. Two of the Seminoles’ first 3 opponents were Nevada and Bethune-Cookman in which Winston threw 18 and 19 passes, respectively, (completing 15 and 10 in order).

Of course, those games followed Winston’s spectacular debut at Pitt, his best game at quarterback during his 2-year career at FSU, at least where quarterback rating (252.23) is concerned. In that game, one I compare this year with the trip to Mile High Stadium vs. Colorado, Winston completed 25-of-27 passes for 356 yards and 4 TDs (no interceptions).

If Fisher cuts King loose from the opening kick, which I personally don’t think will happen, it tells me that he believes King and his surrounding cast are better than anyone on the schedule and it doesn’t matter if that opponent, whomever it may be, knows what’s coming.

More likely, I believe that on Saturday we’ll see King hit the dinks and dunks to a plethora of talented receivers, throw a few long balls – probably early on to loosen up the Golden Flashes – and build confidence. Don’t get frustrated if King isn’t given a Joe Burrow-like game plan on Saturday. Expect the Aggies to be far more methodical in their approach to wearing down Kent State in the opener.

That’s not to say we shouldn’t expect King to put it up 20-30 times, or more. It just means that the vast majority of those tosses will probably be safe, conservative, confidence-building routes against an inferior Kent State defense that returns 8 players on its defense, but just 1 in the secondary.

Statistically, they were pretty good against the pass vs. MAC opposition a year ago. The Golden Flashes were 2nd in that conference allowing just 648 passing yards in 4 games.

Of course, the opposition was nothing like what they’ll see Saturday in College Station, Kent State played a 2020 schedule that included Eastern Michigan, Bowling Green (Tennessee’s season-opening opponent on Thursday), Akron and Buffalo, which by the way hung 70 in the Golden Flashes’ only loss last year.

So, let the games begin. We’re ready for whichever King we see Saturday. We’re just ready for some football. And watch with the knowledge that the King we see on Saturday probably won’t be the same King we see by the time October rolls around and Alabama comes calling.