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Texas A&M WR Emerging as Dark Horse for Heisman Trophy?

Marcel Reed is not the only Texas A&M Aggies player receiving Heisman Trophy chatter.
DJ Burton|
Texas A&M Aggies wide receiver Mario Craver (1) runs the ball against Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive lineman Jordan Botelho (12) during the first half at Notre Dame Stadium.
Texas A&M Aggies wide receiver Mario Craver (1) runs the ball against Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive lineman Jordan Botelho (12) during the first half at Notre Dame Stadium. | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

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Texas A&M Aggies

Heading into the 2025 season, there were rumblings about a potential Heisman Trophy candidate coming out of Aggieland. 

Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed was coming off an impressive redshirt freshman season in which he completed 147 of his 240 passing attempts for 1,864 yards, 15 touchdowns and six interceptions. The way last year finished, it seemed like Reed sitting in New York at the end of 2025 would not be too surprising. 

While Reed is still leading the Aggies’ Heisman push, wide receiver Mario Craver has skyrocketed up the board as a second Heisman Trophy candidate for the Aggies. 

Mario Craver’s Heisman Trophy Chances

Texas A&M Aggies wide receiver Mario Craver
Texas A&M Aggies wide receiver Mario Craver against the UTSA Roadrunners at Kyle Field. | Sean Thomas-Imagn Images

Texas A&M having two Heisman candidates is not foreign for this part of the season. Miami joins the Aggies, with two candidates, at least according to On3’s Heisman Poll ahead of Week 4.

Reed finds himself at the No. 4 spot, just behind Miami’s Carson Beck, Florida State’s Tommy Castellanos and Oklahoma’s John Mateer.

While Craver was not on the official Top-10, Pete Nakos revealed he had the star receiver in his No. 9 position. 

While all eyes were on Texas A&M’s transfer portal wide receivers duo, all the talk and hype surrounded KC Concepcion out of NC State. The chatter around Concepcion allowed Craver to almost fly under the radar, and break out epically to start the season. 

Craver has had one of the most impressive three-game stretches in recent memory. Against UTSA, Craver hauled in eight passes for 122 yards and two touchdowns. Against Utah State, he caught five passes for 114 yards and a touchdown. In Texas A&M’s thrilling victory over the No. 8 Notre Dame Fighting Irish, the Aggies’ offense ran almost exclusively through Craver. He amassed seven receptions for a career-high 207 yards and a touchdown. 

When Colorado wide receiver Travis Hunter won the Heisman Trophy in 2024, he recorded 132 yards and three touchdowns in Week 1, 110 yards in Week 2 and 100 yards and two touchdowns in Week 3. Throughout the rest of the season, he strung together multiple performances of over 100 receiving yards. If Craver stays on his current path, he will eclipse Hunter’s numbers that earned him the Heisman. 

When DeVonta Smith won the Heisman for his 2020 season with the Alabama Crimson Tide, he averaged nearly 143 yards per game and recorded 23 total touchdowns. 

While it is a long season, Reed and Craver have to like their current position heading into SEC play. 

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DJ Burton
DJ BURTON

DJ Burton is a journalist from Kingwood, Texas. He is a credentialed writer for Texas A&M Aggies On SI. He graduated from Texas A&M with a journalism major and a sport management minor. Before attending A&M, Burton played offensive line for two seasons at Hiram College in northeast Ohio, where he studied sport management. Burton brings experience covering football, baseball, softball, men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball. He also served as a senior sports writer for A&M’s student newspaper, The Battalion.

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