Smith Sees Room for Aggies Offense to Improve
Everyone's a critic. Even Ainias Smith.
Smith helped Texas A&M start the season off on a right note with a 41-10 victory over Kent State. With a new quarterback, a new offensive line and a packed house for the first time since 2019, pregame jitters were going to factor into Saturday night's opener.
Smith, however, isn't interested in excuses. He's a veteran wide receiver entering his third season, and nerves aren't an issue at this stage of his career.
"I feel like I played average," Smith said Saturday. "I didn't play very well, in my opinion. It may have looked good, but personally, I'm my biggest critic. So I feel like I ... not going to lie, made bad decisions. Just got to play smarter."
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On most occasions, Smith's stat line would say otherwise. He was vital part of Haynes King's early success to help set a tone for A&M's offense. The two connected three times on the opening drive, including a 4-yard touchdown to put the Aggies up 7-0.
In the third quarter, King found Smith for a second touchdown as Texas A&M was pulling away. King finished with 292 yards passing and those two scores to Smith, but also threw three picks.
"Haynes, I feel like he played a very solid game," Smith said. "Obviously, he didn't have the best game. We didn't have to punt the ball at all. We were driving pretty well. We just had to be able to capitalize. It shows our chemistry is just going to get better as the season goes on."
That's the thing about football. It's four quarters, not four plays. Smith's concerns are warranted.
Smith finished with a team-high eight catches for 100 yards. He was targeted 13 times, dropping a pair of passes that could have gone for scores.
READ MORE: Aggies defense gels against Kent State
“We did what we had to do to win the game, (but) we played an extremely sloppy game, in my opinion,” A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said.
There wasn't a single player who was perfect on the night, as is always the case. Minimizing the big errors is key in college football.
Leon O'Neal took advantage of two huge Kent State mistakes with pair of interceptions, including an 85-yard touchdown return in the third. He also missed several tackles, and nearly was ejected for a targeting call that was reversed.
Despite his impact offensively, Smith suffered a boneheaded moment in the fourth on special teams. He muffed a punt that was clearly going over his head. Instead of just getting away from the ball, it bounced up and hit him to become live. The Golden Flashes recovered just outside of the Aggies' end zone.
READ MORE: Haynes King has more to learn
"I'm not able to make silly mistakes like that, especially as a veteran," Smith said. "I have to just come out and be a smarter football player and really just hone in on to the situation."
The Aggies did pull away in the second half after being up just 10-3 at the halftime break. King seemed to be in command of the offense and the defense stepped up.
It's those mistakes, though, that will drive the Aggies in practice this week. They know there's much to correct before the season moved into SEC play.
"Just got to play smarter," Smith said.
The Aggies hit the road next week to play Colorado in Denver. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Empower Field.
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