A&M's Mond Earns New Grade From Pro Football Focus
MOBILE, Ala. - The Southeastern Conference will need to replace the top quarterbacks. As Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa, Georgia's Jake Fromm and LSU's Joe Burrow all head to the NFL, the SEC will look to replace their production with perhaps several veterans.
Texas A&M's Kellen Mond could be a name to watch for moving forward. Entering his junior season, the expectation was for the San Antonio native to take control of the SEC West. He was greeted with mixed reviews, throwing for 2,987 yards and 20 touchdowns, all lower than the season prior. As the veteran quarterback of the conference, there will be expectations for him to grow in his final season.
Pro Football Focus, one of the multiple media tools to help expand the knowledge of football, produces a yearly grade for all players and the collegiate and pro level. Quarterbacks will always be a center point of conversation to address when looking at the film and Mond's season was well documented.
PFF graded the Aggies' quarterback as the 41st pocket-passer this season. Although they did mention the issues of pressure attack consistently, the staff couldn't ignore his inconsistencies throwing the deep ball.
"Owner of one of the best throws of the entire season, Mond had a tremendously difficult schedule to contend with at Texas A&M this season," Cam Mellor wrote. "He still navigated through difficult secondaries fielded from Clemson, Auburn, Alabama, Georgia and LSU to field a completion percentage of 61.3% and 20 passing touchdowns against just nine interceptions. Buoyed by the aforementioned top throw of the season, Mond was incredible when working to his left, completing 39 of his 69 throws to the left of the numbers for 486 yards and four scores. His season started off with a bang against Texas State with this throw. Unfortunately, he needed a few more big-time throws like that to reach a few more victories and a few more spots higher on these rankings."
Mond began the preseason ranked as PFF's No.25 quarterback. The Aggies would become the first team in NCAA history to face the No.1 team in the country four times while also being the first team since 1975 to play against the AP's preseason's top three.
The dual-threat ability became prevalent for the offense following the injury to running back Jashaun Corbin. Without a consistent No.2 back, the Aggies' quarterback would see plenty of open-field action. Mond finished second in the team in rushing with 501 yards and eight touchdowns.
The Aggies schedule should play into their favor for the start of the new decade. Not only will the team face lesser opponents in Abilene Christian, North Texas and Fresno State, the team will swap out Clemson with Colorado, a roster that finished 5-7 under first-year head coach Mel Tucker. Instead of facing Georgia, A&M will take Vanderbilt as its second SEC East team.
Of the returning quarterbacks in the conference, only one would rank higher than Mond — and it's a player who didn't even join until this past month. New Georgia quarterback Jamie Newman finished at Wak Forest ranked as the No.16 quarterback this season. Mellor credited the now Bulldogs' signal-caller for his "big-time throws" and "ability to squeeze into tight windows."
The Aggies finished the 2019 campaign with an 8-5 record. Mond's 67-yard touchdown run against Oklahoma State helped A&M pick up a 24-21 victory in the Texas Bowl to end their season on a positive note.
