Texas A&M Football

Texas A&M is reportedly making a quarterback change after last week's shocking home loss to Appalachian State.

According to Brett McMurphy of Action Network, Aggies head coach Jimbo Fisher has decided to start Max Johnson over Haynes King against the No. 13 Miami Hurricanes on Saturday.

King, a sophomore who won the starting job out of training camp, struggled mightily in the 17-14 loss to App State, going just 13-of-20 for 97 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.

Even in the Aggies' season-opening 31-0 win over Sam Houston State, King experienced some ups and downs, throwing for 364 yards and three touchdowns but also getting picked twice.

In place of King, Texas A&M is going with a more experienced player in Johnson, a junior who's playing his first campaign at TAMU.

He is the son of Super Bowl-winning quarterback Brad Johnson and spent the previous two seasons at LSU. While with the Tigers, Johnson appeared in 18 games and put up some solid numbers.

He completed 59.8 percent of his passes for 3,884 yards, 35 touchdowns and just seven interceptions. That included throwing 27 touchdowns and six picks in 12 contests last season.

Texas A&M is clinging to the No. 24 ranking in the nation, but it would almost certainly drop out of the Top 25 with a loss to the Hurricanes.

Miami is off to a 2-0 start with blowout wins over Bethune-Cookman and Southern Mississippi, but Texas A&M represents its toughest test yet.

Saturday marks a potential must-win game for the Aggies if they want to remain in the hunt for an eventual berth in the College Football Playoff.

King may have a higher ceiling, but Johnson has been through some tough SEC battles on big stages, which perhaps makes him the safer choice to start against a highly ranked team in Miami.

Texas A&M defensive back Denver Harris posted a video on Instagram Live that appeared to show him speeding through a parking garage.

Adam Spencer of Saturday Down South reported the video, which surfaced on social media Monday night, was taken following the Aggies' upset loss to Appalachian State on Saturday.

Texas A&M hasn't commented on the situation, per Hunter Hodies of The Spun.

Harris joined A&M as part of its 2022 recruiting class. He was a 5-star prospect and the No. 23 overall recruit in this year's group, according to 247Sports' composite rankings.

The defensive back, who played at North Shore Senior High School in Houston, was a notable in-state recruiting victory for the Aggies amid interest from several other high-profile programs, including Alabama, LSU, Michigan and Ohio State.

"All that No. 1 class stuff is good, but we've got to come out there and instantly win a national championship," Harris told KPRC's Randy McIlvoy after committing to the Aggies in December. "It means the world to me—for me and my family."

He also attracted attention after the loss to App State for liking a Twitter post that negatively described the offense used by A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher:

Harris has recorded five total tackles through two appearances at Texas A&M.

The 24th-ranked Aggies return to action Saturday night when they welcome No. 13 Miami to Kyle Field for a top-25 showdown.

Coming off one of the biggest upsets in Texas A&M history, head coach Jimbo Fisher is open to making a significant change.

Per ESPN's Dave Wilson, Fisher said Monday that he would consider giving up play-calling duties following the Aggies' subpar offensive performance in their 17-14 loss against Appalachian State on Saturday.

"In time, I would," Fisher said. "Possibly could. You always evaluate those things."

Fisher also added that he "possibly could" consider making a change at quarterback after starter Haynes King went 13-of-20 for 97 yards on Saturday.

"We'll evaluate everything this week," he said. "We'll evaluate every position this week."

Texas A&M mustered only 186 yards against an Appalachian State team that surrendered 63 points to North Carolina in Week 1. After falling to 1-1, the Aggies rank 103rd in the nation in total offense (341.5 yards per game).

The team wasn't much better in 2021, finishing 71st (392.4 yards per game), 88th in passing (208.6 YPG) and 56th in scoring (29.3 PPG). Texas A&M went 8-4 last season, scoring 24 points or fewer in six games.

Fisher has spent nearly his entire coaching career as his team's primary play-caller. He won national titles as an offensive coordinator for LSU and as a head coach of Florida State.

Fisher was asked if his ego would stop him from relinquishing play-calling duties, and he responded: "No. I'm always [about] whatever it takes to win. Winning takes all effect over everything. I promise you that."

Prior to the start of this season, Fisher made some changes to his offensive staff. He moved Darrell Dickey from quarterbacks coach to tight ends coach, James Coley from tight ends to wide receivers and Dameyune Craig from wide receivers to quarterbacks. Dickey and Coley also act as co-offensive coordinators, but Fisher remains the one who calls the plays.

Texas A&M will look to bounce back when it returns to action Saturday against No. 13 Miami.

Johnny Manziel is offering to return to his alma mater after Texas A&M was stunned 17-14 by Appalachian State on Saturday.

The 2012 Heisman Trophy winner joked on Twitter that he still has college eligibility left to suit up for the Aggies again:

Per Darren Rovell of the Action Network, Appalachian State was paid $1.5 million by Texas A&M to play this game at Kyle Field.

Texas A&M entered Saturday ranked sixth in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. Any playoff hopes it had coming into the season may have evaporated with this loss.

The offense went a span of 15 minutes, 51 seconds of game time between the third and fourth quarters without getting the ball. Appalachian State had two drives that took a combined 29 plays and 15 minutes, 37 seconds off the clock and resulted in 10 points.

In between those possessions, the Aggies got a special teams touchdown on Devon Achane's 95-yard kickoff return. They had a chance to tie the score at 17 on their final possession, but Caden Davis missed a 47-yard field goal with 3:43 left to play.

This game was almost the polar opposite of what happened to Appalachian State in its season opener.

The Mountaineers were coming off a 63-61 loss to North Carolina that saw the teams combine for 62 points in the fourth quarter, including 40 by Appalachian State. They had an opportunity to tie the game with nine seconds remaining, but a two-point conversion failed when Chase Brice's pass to a wide open Dashaun Davis sailed over his head.

Manziel was arguably the biggest star in college sports during his two-year stint at Texas A&M from 2012-13. He became the second player in school history and the first redshirt freshman to win the Heisman.

The Aggies went 20-6 during the Manziel era, including a 29-24 win over top-ranked Alabama during the 2012 season.

After a season-opening win against Sam Houston State last weekend, the No. 6 Texas A&M Aggies were upset by the unranked Appalachian State Mountaineers 17-14 on Saturday at Kyle Field in College Station.

Texas A&M was previously 10-0 against non-Power 5 schools in Jimbo Fisher's tenure.

It marked the second upset victory by a Sun Belt Conference team on Saturday after Marshall defeated No. 8 Notre Dame 26-21 in South Bend, Indiana, earlier in the afternoon.

Saturday's win is also App State's second-ever win against an AP Top 10-ranked team and the first in 15 years. The Mountaineers previously defeated the No. 5 Michigan Wolverines back in 2007.

The Aggies and Mountaineers were tied 7-7 entering halftime. Appalachian State running back Ahmani Marshall posted the first touchdown of the afternoon on a four-yard run in the second quarter.

However, Texas A&M quickly responded when running back Devon Achane rushed for a 26-yard score on the next drive to tie the game at seven a piece.

App State took a 14-7 lead in the third quarter when quarterback Chase Brice connected with Henry Pearson for a nine-yard score. But, once again, Texas A&M responded quickly when Achane returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown.

Appalachian State's Michael Hughes responded with a 29-yard field goal to give the Mountaineers a 17-14 lead, and when Texas A&M's Caden Davis tried to respond with a 47-yard field goal, he missed, which sealed the win for App State.

Aggies quarterback Haynes King completed 13 of 20 passes for 97 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions in the loss. He also rushed for 23 yards on eight carries.

Achane led A&M running backs with 66 rushing yards and a score, while Evan Stewart led receivers with five catches for 48 yards. Achane also had two kick returns for 120 yards and a touchdown.

Brice, the Mountaineers signal-caller, completed 15 of 30 passes for 134 yards and one touchdown. He also rushed for 10 yards.

Camerun Peoples led App State running backs with 19 carries for 112 yards, while Dashaun Davis led receivers with four catches for 39 yards.

Texas A&M managed just nine first downs compared to App State's 22. The Aggies also racked up seven penalties for 58 yards and had two fumbles, which factored into the loss.

Fisher's team will look to get back on track next weekend against Mario Cristobal and No. 15 Miami.

Texas A&M gained a significant boost to its 2023 recruiting class Saturday when it received a commitment from 5-star linebacker Anthony Hill Jr.

The Athletic reported the defensive standout selected the Aggies over Alabama, Miami, Oklahoma and USC.

Hill is rated as the No. 15 overall player and the top-ranked linebacker in the 2023 class, according to 247Sports' composite rankings. He's also the second-best prospect from the football-rich state of Texas.

The 6'2", 225-pound Ryan High School standout has also played running back in addition to his time leading the Raiders defense.

Ryan head coach Dave Henigan praised Hill's impact in September, per Steve Gamel of the Denton Record-Chronicle.

"He's definitely a catalyst. He's a phenom," Henigan said. "He's in even more of a leadership role than he was a year ago, and he was making plays back then. He's freakishly talented, but he's also a good kid and a hard worker. He's coachable, and you know he'll get better. He's just special."

Hill has the size and physical tools to become a high-impact, sideline-to-sideline linebacker at the college level. He's a reliable tackler and has also shown improvement in pass coverage, showing playmaking tendencies that could make him a force.

He possesses NFL upside if his development continues on its trajectory throughout his collegiate career.

Hill has shown enough in high school to believe he could make an immediate impact at the next level, but it'll likely take some time before his role as a freshman at Texas A&M is determined.

He'll eventually get his chance to shine for the Aggies, even if it doesn't happen right away. His arrival is a major in-state win on the recruiting trail for Jimbo Fisher and his staff.

Texas A&M wide receiver Ainias Smith was suspended by the team after being arrested in Brazos County, Texas, on Wednesday.

Per TMZ Sports, Smith was arrested on suspicion of DWI and booked into jail on charges of unlawful carrying of a weapon, driving while intoxicated and possession of marijuana.

Per ESPN's Jeff Borzello, Brazos County Jail records show that Smith posted $8,000 bail.

After the arrest, Texas A&M suspended the wide receiver and the program noted head coach Jimbo Fisher was aware and looking into the situation, per Travis L. Brown of The Eagle.

Per Brent Zwerneman of the Houston Chronicle, Smith was stopped for speeding by police around 2 a.m. local time. Officers found a "rolled joint of marijuana" and gun with a "full magazine and a round chambered" when they searched his car.

The Aggies chose Smith as one of their player representatives, along with head coach Jimbo Fisher, at SEC media days.

Smith was removed from this session after his arrest, per Brown.

Smith is entering his senior season with the Aggies. He committed to the program in 2019 out of Dulles High School in Sugar Land, Texas.

The Missouri City native appeared in 11 games as a freshman in 2019. He racked up 302 yards from scrimmage and three total touchdowns.

As a sophomore in 2020, Smith split time between wide receiver and running back. He led the team with 10 total touchdowns and ranked second with 857 yards from scrimmage in 10 games.

Smith led the Aggies with six receiving touchdowns and finished second with 506 receiving yards last season. He announced in January that he was returning to school for his senior year.

Texas A&M will open the 2022 regular season Sept. 3 against Sam Houston State at Kyle Field.

Do not expect a war of words between Nick Saban and Jimbo Fisher to continue into the regular season.

The Alabama coach addressed his offseason spat with Fisher on Tuesday at SEC media days in Atlanta, saying he has "no issues" with his Texas A&M counterpart.

"First of all, I have no issues or problems with Jimbo," Saban told reporters. "He's done a great job at A&M, and he did a great job for us. I always take criticisms or whatever in a positive way to self-assess me personally to feel like there is maybe something I can do better.

"Any comment that anyone makes, I always take into consideration. But there are no problems."

Saban and Fisher traded barbs in May when Saban made a comment about how the Aggies "bought every player on their team." Fisher responded forcefully the following day, saying A&M has broken no NCAA rules and calling Saban's character into question. The SEC publicly reprimanded both coaches for their comments.

Fisher and Saban hashed things out before the conference's spring meetings.

"It's over with," Fisher said last month. "We're done talking about it. We're moving on to try to fix the problems of what we have in college football. There are a lot more pressing needs than our arguments."

Texas A&M signed 2022's top recruiting class thanks in large part to a robust investment from boosters in name, image and likeness deals for players. Saban has bemoaned the new NIL rules for creating an even wider gulf between top programs and the rest of the country, though he acknowledged Alabama benefits from the new rules.

"Name, image and likeness is not an issue for us at Alabama,” Saban said Tuesday. "And our players, I think, did better than anybody in the country last year. ... The biggest concern is how does this impact and affect recruiting because on the recruiting trail right now there's a lot of people using this as inducements to go to their schools by making promises they may or may not be able to keep in terms of what players are doing."

The seven-time national champion has also expressed concern over the rise of megaconferences in college football. The SEC is set to add Oklahoma and Texas in 2025, and the Big Ten will bring in UCLA and USC a year prior.

"Megaconferences will create more of a caste system, maybe, in college football, and everyone has to decide if that's the direction we really want to go or not," Saban said on ESPN's Get Up.

Saban estimated Alabama players earned more than $3 million in NIL deals over the past year. It's likely that number will continue to rise as booster groups look to keep their teams competitive.