Aggies Own Weapons To Make King's Life Easier
As much as every move and throw by Haynes King was scrutinized in the opener – and rightfully so – perhaps the recipe for success for Texas A&M’s first-year starting quarterback doesn’t rely on his right arm.
Maybe, it’s his right hand.
Feed the rock to Isiah Spiller and/or Devon Achane. A lot.
King had his share of moments in the 41-10 win by the No. 6 Aggies over Kent State in the season opener Friday night. The redshirt freshman threw for nearly 300 yards and two touchdowns is his first start for the Maroon and White.
READ MORE: Haynes King has more to learn
But his three interceptions were a cause for concern. While it might not mean much against a MAC opponent, multiple picks and bad decisions spell certain doom when the things heat up in SEC action.
“We’ve got to play a lot cleaner game,” Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said. “Got to coach a better game. We got to coach a better game, have them better prepared. That’s on me. We’ll get fixed. We’re going to do a better job of that.”
It’s admirable for Fisher to take the heat off his players, especially King. But some of his throws into coverage were definite head scratchers that could come back to bite the Aggies against tougher foes.
“He’s a gamer,” Spiller said of King. “You know, mental mistakes his first game. We all have them. But I feel like he’s really going to be good for us. He’s a great player.
“That’s all I've got to say about him. And he’s going to mature and develop during the season, so he's just going to keep getting better and better. So I can’t wait to see it.”
King does have the luxury of leaning on one of the most explosive set of playmakers in the country, especially in the backfield. Spiller and Achane both ran for more than 100 yards in the opener, displaying a dizzying combination of speed, agility and power.
“Basically just continuing what we started,” Spiller said. “You know, it’s just our job, doing our job every day, me and Von, you know, scored twice tonight. So yeah, I'm happy to see him get his over 100. So can’t wait for next week.”
That kind of firepower behind or next to your quarterback needs to be exploited. And if you’re QB is young and feeling his way in major college football, is there a better security blanket than just giving the ball to a running back that can take it to the house on any play?
“There's some really good individual things that happened at times,” Fisher said. “We've got to collectively put the drives together. Had two backs [rush for] 100 yards. Achane had 127 yards. Spiller had 113. They caught the ball nice. Made some really nice plays.”
READ MORE: Aggies defense gels against Kent State
Though it’s hard externally to find fault in a 31-point blowout, the Aggies are trying to reach a standard that goes beyond the score. The program has national championship aspirations, and that means attention to detail and imposing its will on the opposition.
Though Week 1 was far from perfect – five turnovers is a problem – there's plenty of time for the Aggies to find their stride.
“That’s why I say all those things, and we’ve still got to clean it up,” Fisher said. “The good thing is we can. And the good thing is some guys, you can’t get better. We can get a lot better, so we need to do it. That’s coaching.”
King definitely can get better. And it’s not all about throwing.
