Reports: Texas A&M to start QB Max Johnson instead of Haynes King vs. Miami

Texas A&M is reportedly making a change at quarterback ahead of Miami’s Week 3 visit Saturday night.

Haynes King started the first two games of the season for the No. 24 Aggies but will be replaced by LSU transfer Max Johnson against the No. 13 Hurricanes per multiple reports. Johnson, the son of former NFL QB Brad Johnson, transferred to A&M after the 2021 season amid wholesale changes at LSU. He lost out to King in the Aggies’ offseason QB competition.

That meant King started the season as the Aggies’ top QB for the second season in a row. But he struggled mightily in A&M’s 17-14 loss to Appalachian State. King was 13-of-20 for 97 yards as the Aggies had less than 200 yards of total offense. A&M was 2-of-8 on third downs and had the ball for just over 18 minutes as Appalachian State successfully played keep away to shorten the game.

A season ago, King started the Aggies' first two games before not appearing in another game the rest of the season because of injury. King suffered a lower leg injury in the second game of the season against Colorado and was replaced by Zach Calzada. He transferred to Auburn at the end of the season.

Johnson was 225-of-373 passing for 2,815 yards and 27 TDs a season ago with the Tigers. He threw for over 300 yards in the final two games of the 2021 season, including in a 27-24 win over Texas A&M that got LSU bowl eligible. He was 22-of-38 passing for 306 yards and three TDs in that game and didn’t have a game with more than one interception all season.

Johnson transferred to Texas A&M as his brother Jake signed with the Aggies as part of A&M's No. 1 ranked 2022 recruiting class. Jake Johnson was a four-star recruit, according to Rivals, and the No. 4 tight end in the country.