Mario Craver Is Making The Most Out of His Time At Texas A&M

Eating and gaining weight.

That’s been one of the most significant physical differences that wide receiver Mario Craver has seen during his short, nine-month tenure in Aggieland.

“KC can cook real good,” Craver said. “He cook it up on a Saturday or Sunday. One day, he had cooked these ribs. Macaroni. Baked beans. He did his thing that day. I ain’t gonna lie.”

After gaining 20 to 25 pounds since joining the Aggies, Craver not only has been feasting, but he has also noticed that his game has evolved. He has more confidence now since joining head coach Mike Elko and working under the Collin Klein offense. Craver spoke about putting in the work in the weight room and staying right.

“I put on 20 to 25 pounds since I’ve been here,” Craver said. “The nutrition plan we have up here is excellent, so that’s been helping me out a lot. I know that I am bigger, faster, stronger, so I am more confident when I go out there.”

Putting in work

Texas A&M Aggies defensive back Dashawn Fillmore (26) reacts during the second half against Notre Dame Fighting Irish. — Aug 31, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies defensive back Dashawn Fillmore (26) reacts during the second half against Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Kyle Field. | Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports

Through two weeks, Craver’s presence on the field, whether he is facing man coverage or zone coverage, has lit a fire that has been a spark to A&M’s offense. In Craver’s two games at Kyle Field, he has hauled in 13 receptions for 236 yards. In the home opener vs UTSA, he retrieved 122 yards on eight catches, while he pulled in five receptions for 114 yards.

“I’m going to try to keep that same pace,” Craver said.

South Bend, Indiana, presents a distinct environment and a unique defense that favors man coverage. Craver said the Notre Dame defense has excellent resources for the secondary and that it's something to watch.

“I tend to do pretty well, but that’s something we’ll see Saturday,” Craver said. “They have a great personnel to be able to play man coverage, and I just look at it as a challenge.”

Another challenge that requires Craver to dedicate himself to and excel in is wide receiver blocking, which has been a huge factor for A&M in the yard-after-catch category.

“Blocking on the outside, people don’t really realize it strings a lot of explosive plays,” Craver said. “When your receivers are blocking downfield for runs or when they are blocking downfield when the receivers catch the ball, that is what creates explosive plays, so we know if we do that, we’ll be able to create more explosive plays than what we already have in offense.”

Even after a hamstring injury that took place when he played for Mississippi State, Craver has dealt with adversity and has gone the extra mile to stay healthy. So far, he's continued pushing along with a colossal game against the Fighting Irish coming up that he has been analyzing.

Awaiting Notre Dame

Waiting patiently for Saturday is hard.

For Craver, Saturday’s primetime matchup is something that he is not ready to say how A&M fares against Notre Dame.

“I really can’t say how we matchup,” Craver said. “That’s something we have to see on Saturday."

Circling specific games on A&M’s schedule that everyone has been waiting to watch has included Notre Dame after the 23-13 loss at Kyle Field. Traveling to South Bend, Indiana, got circled for Craver, acknowledging the early-season significance of the game being a top-20 matchup.

“Everyone knows at the beginning of this year, we circled this game on our schedule, and this is going to be the first big game that we get to show what we can do,” Craver said.

Knowing that traveling to South Bend, Indiana, is only the beginning of a brutal schedule that is left including home games against No. 24 Auburn and No. 11 South Carolina and away games versus No. 3 LSU, No. 25 Missouri and the season finale against No. 7 Texas, the window to break a 15-game drought against top-10 teams on the road is there.

“We look at this as an opportunity to go show what we’ve been doing these last nine months and show them the team that we are,” Craver said.