'No Ceiling': Ainias Smith's Confidence in A&M Receivers High After Spring Game
An elite passing attack wasn't Texas A&M's repertoire last season, with the Aggies struggling in the SEC as the third-worst team in passing yards per game (208.6) and the second-fewest total passing yards (2,503).
And during Saturday's annual Maroon and White Spring Game, windy conditions caused A&M's passing production to falter once again. But ask Aggies wideout Ainias Smith about the receivers' performance and he'll tell you different.
Godofredo A. Vasquez, San Antonio Express-News
USA Today Sports
“(The confidence) is through the roof," Smith said to the media Saturday. "I feel like our receiving room has no ceiling. Everybody’s getting better every single day and there’s things that everybody can improve on. This offseason’s gonna be very important for not only the offense, but for the defense, our QBs, everything is gonna have to be on point. We want to go ahead and go to that next level."
Smith enters his senior year in College Station as the leader of A&M's receiving room. Last season, he led the Aggies in catches (47) and touchdowns (six), but is likely to see his production dwindle with the emergence of receivers Jalen Preston and true freshman Evan Stewart. Both guys made some impressive plays on Saturday.
Preston was fourth on the team in receiving yards (255) as a junior last season, adding 17 catches and two touchdowns. There's little doubt that he'll easily surpass all three of these marks during his senior year.
Stewart was the tenth overall player on Sports Illustrated's top 99 prospect rankings released in January. As arguably one of the most talented receivers in the class of 2022, all eyes were on him during the spring game.
USA Today Sports
"I feel like (Stewart) should go ahead and expect a lot out of himself just because of the expectation that he has for himself coming in," Smith said. "He’s always a hardworking type of guy, he’s never gonna back down from a challenge. So for him to be able to come in and play the way he has, it’s definitely raised his expectations of the things that are gonna be needed from him."
Stewart and Preston both saw more action on Saturday, as Smith took somewhat of a backseat on offense. But he says the privilege of having other guys step up will be vital for A&M's success once the 2022 season kicks off later this fall.
“It’s real competitive, man," Smith said. "It’s something new every day and it’s somebody new also, it’s not just the same guys that want to compete it’s everybody wanting to compete. And that’s what we need, that’s the energy that we like to have especially out there on the practice field. Everybody is out there wanting to compete and work, so I love it.”
The final piece of the passing-game puzzle is figuring out which quarterback is right for the starting job. On Saturday, Max Johnson and Haynes King had a handful of impressive moments, while Connor Weigman showed promise. Regardless of who's named A&M's starter, they'll have an elite group of receivers to throw to.
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