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Texas A&M Football: 5 reasons Aggies will struggle in 2018

By Andrew Miller

CHARLOTTE, NC - DECEMBER 29: Nick Starkel #17 of the Texas A&M Aggies walks off the field after being defeated by the Wake Forest Demon Deacons 55-52 in the Belk Bowl at Bank of America Stadium on December 29, 2017 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NC - DECEMBER 29: Nick Starkel #17 of the Texas A&M Aggies walks off the field after being defeated by the Wake Forest Demon Deacons 55-52 in the Belk Bowl at Bank of America Stadium on December 29, 2017 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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COLLEGE STATION, TX – OCTOBER 28: Kellen Mond #11 of the Texas A&M Aggies throws a pass in the second quarter against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Kyle Field on October 28, 2017 in College Station, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
COLLEGE STATION, TX – OCTOBER 28: Kellen Mond #11 of the Texas A&M Aggies throws a pass in the second quarter against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Kyle Field on October 28, 2017 in College Station, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /

4. Quarterback controversy

Jimbo usually fielded some very solid quarterbacks in his time with Florida State. Yet, the end of the tenure under center was worse than it started for him. Fans saw the departures of numerous highly-touted quarterback recruits, including two that wound up on the Netflix hit series ‘Last Chance U’, and the passing game fell through the cracks last season.

Once sophomore quarterback Deondre Francois went down for the Noles in the season opener against Alabama last year, the season went completely downhill the rest of the way. Jimbo had trouble doing damage control despite a talented roster around the quarterback. Freshman quarterback James Blackman had some pretty frequent mistakes made last season.

As this pertains to the Aggies directly, this is another offense that Fisher is overseeing that has a competition between young quarterbacks for the starting spot. Those two quarterbacks are a pair of sophomores in Kellen Mond and Nick Starkel. By all accounts, Starkel should be the favorite to be the Week 1 starter at this point, but nothing has officially been announced.

Starkel was also the planned starter for the Week 1 matchup with the UCLA Bruins in 2017, but he went down with injury. If Mond is forced into action again this season, it could be a rough road for the Texas A&M offense to adapt. That becomes especially true while running a new scheme with a new coaching staff at the helm.