| Herald-Journal
South Carolina has never defeated Texas A&M in six attempts since the two programs became annual opponents of the SEC in 2014. An important component in half of these meetings was Aggies quarterback Kellen Mond.
The agile and large armada of 6 feet-3. The 217-pound senior started each of the last three games in the series and proved to be a thorn in the side of Gamecocks and coach Will Muschamp, who made his name as a defensive coordinator. Mond will have the option of a fifth game against the USC next season if he takes advantage of the NCAA which gives football players and other student-athletes a free year due to COVID-19.
“It’s very unusual to see a guy in his fourth year as a starter,” said Muschamp. “But to see where he came from as a freshman and how he continued to progress each year, I think that probably one of his most talented attributes is his endurance. He will stay there. Thinking about last year, we ran with him very well, we went after him very well and he got up every time. “
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Mond is a combined pass from 64 to 97 (66 percent) for 733 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions against South Carolina. He also ran 39 times for 167 yards with a touchdown. His best result was in 2018, when he made 25 to 37, passing 353 yards with a touchdown and added 25 running yards.
“I think he has been very accurate in our games,” said Muschamp. “This is one of the things we look at in terms of coverage. If you look at last year, on some critical third-party runs, I felt we were in position and he threw the ball there for some really good moves in those situations. He has played two very good games against us in the past two years and we have to do a better job. ”
Last year, the Aggies scored the first 17 points of the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 13-3, keeping Gamecocks goalless from the final seconds of the first quarter to a pointless field goal with 3:27 remaining in the game. Mond completed 20 of 33 passes for 221 yards with a touchdown and ran 10 times for 47 yards and a touchdown. Texas A&M surpassed USC 540-260 and dominated the possession time from 41:39 to 18:21.
“Last year, the final score was not indicative of how the game went,” said Muschamp. “It was a 13-3 game in the fourth period. We did nothing offensively and were exhausted defensively and lost 17 points in the fourth period. ”
Mond did not run the ball as much as in previous seasons, but that did not detract from the team’s success. Texas A&M is 4-1 and ranked seventh in the Amway Coaches Poll, after three consecutive wins. He lost 52-24 to No. 2 Alabama in Week 2. Monday’s longest running total was 32 yards from last week in six attempts against Arkansas, and he didn’t reach 20 in any of his other four games.
Mond launched 11 of his 12 touchdown passes in the last four games and totaled just two interceptions, completing 64.7 percent of his shots. He’s 101 out of 156, going through 1,244 yards. He was fired with a league loss twice behind an experienced and talented offensive line.
In addition to his mentioned toughness, Muschamp said that experience may be the veteran’s most impressive feature.
“I think he understands very well what they want to be done offensively,” said Muschamp. “He has many problems as a pitcher and runner. He’s a guy that his team and his team really believe in with the confidence they place in him. ”