COLLEGE STATION -- Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher has a reputation of churning out great quarterbacks. He doesn’t have a proven commodity in College Station yet. But after one game, sophomore Kellen Mond looks read to take the step.

Mond looked calm and accurate – even under pressure – during his season debut against Northwestern State. The true sophomore completed 17-of-25 passes for 184 yards and two touchdowns in an easy 59-7 win over the Demons. Consider the quarterback battle all but decided, for now. 

“He managed the game, our protections,” Fisher said. “Even the sacks were things that should have been picked up. He was quick getting the ball out, and great job doing run checks. Lot of the right looks that allowed for a lot of those yards.”

The Aggie offense looked incredibly comfortable with Mond in the game. Out of eight drives against an aggressive Demon defense, Texas A&M scored six times with Mond under center. 

While the performance was against an FCS defense, there was still reason for optimism. Mond faced pressure on several occasions, and was sacked twice. One other time, Mond took a hit straight up the chin, but still stood strong in the pocket and delivered a perfect pass.

Northwestern State selling out to try and prevent the pass helped open things up for the run game. Mond was on the field while running back Trayveon Williams rushed for 240 yards and three touchdowns in barely 35 minutes of game action. Fisher still credits Mond with creating opportunities for the run game.

“You think about quarterback throwing the ball, but run checks are a huge part of their job too,” Fisher said.

Major improvements

It was somewhat of a surprise that Mond won the starting job over backup Nick Starkel. The latter was more accurate and far more consistent as a passer. Most assumed that Fisher would simply go with Starkel since he was a more reliable passer.

A season ago, accuracy was Mond’s biggest issue. He completed a paltry 51.5 percent of his passes for the Aggies in 2017. That fell to 47.2 percent completion against SEC opponents. Over one particularly ghastly three-game stretch – at Florida, vs. Mississippi State, vs. Auburn – Mond completed 34.4 percent of his passes and averaged 4.1 yards per pass attempt.

The quarterback who took the field on Thursday against Northwestern State looked like a completely different player. He was calm and confident in the pocket, and delivered a plethora of pinpoint passes. Some of his throws were legitimately jaw-dropping, including a touchdown pass over the defense to tight end Jace Sternberger and another big gain on a crossing route.

“I’ve always felt like I had pretty good accuracy, but really understanding why passes go to certain areas is what I think I needed to work on,” Mond said. “Coach Fisher really emphasizes understanding that side of things.”

One good game against Northwestern State doesn’t necessarily mean anything. But it’s an encouraging sign. His play has continued to rise since fall camp.

Fisher’s offense is complicated. That’s always set his system apart, but it makes the job difficult for quarterbacks. But even after just a few months, Fisher is confident that Mond – and Starkel – can handle what he throws at them. Their comfort will be especially critical as the Aggies face No. 2 Clemson on Saturday night in College Station. 

“I feel very comfortable,” Fisher said. “Their communication back and forth, when they made mistakes they came off and knew exactly what the look was, the defense was, the coverage was. They weren’t seeing ghosts, as I say. I think we can start to open things up.”