Accountable Weigman credits poor showing to out-of-control footwork

The two primary topics of concern on Monday at Texas A&M football coach Mike Elko’s weekly press conference were center Mark Nabou Jr.’s leg and quarterback Conner Weigman’s feet.

Elko announced Nabou will miss the rest of the season because of a “lower leg” injury.

He also said Weigman’s feet were the reason for his volume of missed passes in the Aggies’ 23-13 season-opening loss to Notre Dame last Saturday.

In his first action since sustaining his own “lower leg” injury against Auburn on Sept. 23 of last season, Weigman completed just 12-of-30 passes for 100 yards. He also threw two interceptions.

The game tape revealed Weigman’s problem was located much lower than his right arm. But it also revealed how Weigman could make a marked improvement in the game against McNeese State this Saturday.

“I think his feet just got out of control underneath him a little bit,” Elko said. “I think that caused a lot of his inaccuracies. I think when you watched him settle his feet at different times — it didn’t happen a lot, but when it did happen he was able to deliver the ball the way he’s capable of.

“On the interception he threw to Noah (Thomas), probably one of the most noticeable examples, his feet were all over the place. He knows it. He saw it. He’s confident in the corrections he needs to make. He’ll have a great week of practice to put himself in position to make the improvements we need to make.”

To his credit, Weigman appeared at the press conference and acknowledged his poor performance.

“I don’t back down from anything,” he said. “I’ll be the first one to tell you I didn’t play the way I’m supposed to play.”

Showing up for the press conference, he said, was his duty as a team leader.

“I felt like I’ve been doing that since Day 1 since the day I got back from my injury,” Weigman said. “Being back healthy, I feel like I’ve been a leader in that locker room. Everyone looks to me. I take that with a sense of pride.

“I feel that responsibility, and I hold that responsibility near and dear to my heart. I’ve got to be that guy. I told them (teammates) this morning, ‘I’ve got to step up. I don’t let one game define who I am as a person. I don’t let one game define who I am as a player. You’ve got to bounce back, show up to work today, and let’s go.’”

Frustrated fans wondered why Elko didn’t bench Weigman during the Notre Dame loss in favor of backups Marcel Reed or Jaylen Henderson. Some have called for Elko to start one of the backups.

But the coach made it clear there would be no knee-jerk reactions to one game.

“We have a memory bank of a lot of reps,” Elko said. “We’ve seen over 1,000 reps of these kids play. You guys, fans, everybody has seen 70.

“So, I think, when you’re making those decisions in the heat of the moment, we’re making them off of 1,070 reps. People want to make them off of 30 throws they see.”

Faaiu Steps In

Elko admitted the injury to Nabou, who a tight competition for the starting job at center, creates a significant loss.

Zoe Kelton, TexAgs

Center Kolinu’u Faaiu played 50 of Texas A&M’s 73 offensive snaps vs. Notre Dame.

“It’s an impact because Mark’s a really good football player, but it’s football,” Elko said. “Injuries happen. The next guy has got to play.”

The “next guy” is Utah transfer Kolinu’u Faaiu, who made eight starts last season for the Utes. Utah was ranked third in the Pac-12 in rushing offense.

Faaiu replaced Nabou during the Notre Dame game and drew praise from Elko.

“I thought he played well,” Elko said. “The kid has played a lot of football. That’s why we brought him here. He battled all the way through (August camp). It really went all the way until about (last) Thursday before we kind of settled on where we were going with that starting offensive line.

“I don’t know, even if Mark was healthy, that we still wouldn’t have a conversation about who those best five (linemen) were. Mark would obviously be in that conversation. So, too, would Koli.

“That’s how we want this to go from a competition standpoint. I thought he played really well. We expected him to. I think he’ll continue to do that moving forward.”

On the Positive Side...

Bright sides are difficult to find in a loss, but Elko was able to identify a couple.

He nodded to the offensive line, which had reasonable success providing running room against Notre Dame’s vaunted defensive line.

“I thought we certainly made some strides and improvement on the offensive line,” he said. “I thought the pockets were cleaner than maybe people thought they were going in.

“We didn’t give up any balls over our head in the secondary. I think the longest pass play they completed on the night was an extremely contested catch where their kid made a phenomenal catch on their sideline. That stuff is going to happen a little bit.”

Zoe Kelton, TexAgs

Led by captain Trey Zuhn III, Texas A&M’s offense only suffered lost yardage on three plays, not including penalties.

The line provided reasonable running room against the vaunted Notre Dame defense. A&M rushed for 146 yards. The Aggies also allowed just one sack.

The secondary surrendered just 158 passing yards to Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard.

Unfortunately, the phenomenal catch to which Elko referred was a 20-yard reception by Beaux Collins on the Irish’s game-winning drive.

Notes

• Although Notre Dame had the advantage in the fourth quarter, Elko did not think conditioning was problematic for the Aggies. At least one reason that question was raised was because Weigman vomited on the sideline. That was caused by a hard hit to Weigman’s stomach.
• Elko pointed out some Texas A&M had some strong ties — and perhaps a loose one — to upcoming opponent McNeese State. “Former head coach R.C. Slocum is a distinguished alumni of McNeese State,” Elko said. “TexAgs journalist Ryan Brauninger is an alumni. … I wouldn’t use the word distinguished.” Neither would we, coach. Neither would we.