An established SEC starter with success at two different programs and three years of eligibility remaining, Johnson could have left Texas A&M after the emergence of Conner Weigman at the end of the 2022 season and found a very receptive transfer portal. It would have been the same situation this spring, after it seemed like Weigman was still ahead in the quarterback competition.

Instead, Johnson stayed put and, for the second consecutive season, endured the disappointment of losing a quarterback competition. With all of those frustrations, he was asked last Saturday, when did he start to consider the transfer portal?

"Never," he replied bluntly. "This is where I want to be. I am getting an awesome degree here. This is where I want to be. I love the coaches, the players, I love this university."

The Aggies were certainly happy for Johnson's persistence, as he came off the bench against Auburn in a 6-3 game when Weigman was injured with less than 5 minutes to go in the first half. He engineered three scoring drives, including two touchdown passes, while completing 7 of 11 passes for 123 yards. With Johnson at the helm, the Aggies easily outpaced Auburn in the second half to walk away with a 27-10 victory.

"I can't say enough great things about Max and how he came in and played," coach Jimbo Fisher said after the game. "Max was outstanding on the day."

Fisher has said multiple times since the start of the season the he believed the Aggies had a luxury in having two starting quarterbacks. That belief was echoed by some of Johnson's teammates, who said there was no falloff in the efficiency of the offense in practice when Johnson would take over for Weigman.

"Whenever we're going 1s with the 2s, there's no dropoff between Conner and Max," Nickel Bryce Anderson said. "The leadership is still there. The execution is still there. It's never a dropoff. It's definitely what we expected."

For his part, Johnson said there were no nerves when Fisher told him he was going in the game. After all, it wouldn't be the first time he had been called on the middle of a game.

"I was in these situations last year; the year before that LSU. I've been in a lot of situations," he said. "I feel like I have learned from everything that I've been and gone through. I was ready for the moment."

Indeed, Johnson went to his teammates on offense and told them that things weren't changing with him at the helm.

"This does not slow down. Keep blocking those butts off. And we are going to put it in the end zone. This thing is not slowing down," he said.

It didn't.

Johnson completed his first pass to wide receiver Ainias Smith for 12 yards and then ran for 5 and a key first down on 3rd and 4 on the Auburn 27. One play later, Johnson rolled to his left and threw a strike to a wide open tight end at the 10, who rumbled into the end zone for A&M's first touchown of the day.

The tight end just so happened to be his brother, Jake, and the score was the first of Jake Johnson's career.

"I think it's a really cool experience," Jake Johnson said Monday during A&M's weekly press conference. "Just to get that brother combo to each and the first touchdown. I think it's really special, especially to do it with him at Texas A&M. It's something we'll always remember and just cherish together."

Max Johnson's second touchdown pass came on the next possession, as he hit receiver Evan Stewart in the hands as two defenders converged on him for a 37-yard score.

"It was pretty much quarters coverage and that safety was covering a corner route and he ended up doing a 360 and ended up coming back on that post," Johnson said. "Evan did a really good job of slipping inside of him and making that catch."

For the season, Johnson has now completed 20 of 31 passes for 226 yards, 4 touchdowns and no interceptions. And he's gone from being a luxury to a necessity, as he looks nearly certain to start this weekend against Arkansas and perhaps beyond that.

"There are a lot of people that can turn their backs on a team or shy away from their responsibility to the team when they don't get the things that they always want at the beginning," Smith said. "But, shoot, he came in and it was like he like we never missed a beat."