Haynes King Named Texas A&M Starting QB vs. Kent State; Takes Over for Kellen Mond

Texas A&M has named Haynes King as the team's starting quarterback to open the 2021 college football season. 

Head coach Jimbo Fisher told Lance Zierlein and John Granato of The Bench on ESPN 97.5 in Houston on Wednesday that King will be under center Sept. 4 against Kent State. 

King will succeed Kellen Mond, who started 44 games over the past four seasons, as the Aggies' No. 1 quarterback. 

Fisher has been coy up to this point about where things stood in the quarterback battle between King and Zach Calzada. 

“We’re going back and forth,” Fisher told reporters late last week about the divide among first-team practice reps. “They each get their shots with the 'ones' in practice and scrimmages and as we go.”

Mond is coming off one of the best four-year stretches in Aggies history. He led the program to a 32-12 record as a starter, threw for 9,661 yards, ran for 1,609 yards and accounted for 93 touchdowns. 

The Minnesota Vikings selected Mond in the third round of the 2021 NFL draft. 

King was a 4-star recruit and the fifth-ranked dual-threat quarterback in the 2020 class, according to 247Sports' composite rankings. The Texas native appeared in two games last season. He ran for 43 yards on five carries and threw an interception in the Aggies' 52-24 loss to Alabama on Oct. 3.   

Expectations are incredibly high for Texas A&M coming into this season. The team ranked fourth in the final Associated Press Top 25 after going 9-1 in 2020. 

The Aggies are ranked sixth in both the preseason AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll to start this campaign.