Aggies Put Receiver Depth on Display vs. Louisiana Monroe
With star sophomore Evan Stewart out of the lineup Saturday, the Texas A&M Aggies needed another receiver to step up if they were going to continue their dominant passing game.
Luckily for A&M, they would get not one, but two receivers step up as Ainias Smith showed his usual big play ability and junior Jahdae Walker broke out to the tune of 110 yards and a touchdown.
Things got started early for Walker on the first drive, as he hauled in a 33-yard pass from Connor Weigman on third and long to get into the red zone. The drive would end on a Randy Bond field goal, but after a Warhawk punt, Weigman would go right back to the receiving tandem.
This time, he found Smith for gains of 23 and 13 yards, before hitting a wide-open Walker in the back of the endzone for six. The touchdown was Walker's first as an Aggie, and he had the moves to show for it, hitting Jaylen Waddle's patented penguin waddle in the endzone.
Smith and Walker would continue to dominate the rest of the half, with Weigman finding each of them on six total passes over 20 yards in the first two quarters. This put each of the two receivers over 100 yards at the half and gave the Aggies a 27-3 lead going into the locker room.
Texas A&M would coast the rest of the way, putting in backup quarterback Max Johnson to finish a game that would ultimately end with a final score of 47-3.
After the game, Jimbo Fisher expressed his approval of Walker.
"He's been that guy; he's got a lot of juice, a lot of energy, has size, ball skills," Fisher said. "He's just been a very efficient guy for us. Getting him going is big because he's got [that] size, speed, and athleticism; he's a really good player."
Ainias Smith was also impressed with Walker, calling him "a dog."
Smith then went on to talk about Walker and the energy he brings to the receiving room, feeling like "they could do something with [him]."
Smith finished by saying how proud he was to see Walker's first touchdown.
"He turned up," Smith said. "So I'm proud of him for sure."
The Aggies look to continue to use their newfound receiving depth to their advantage as they open SEC play next week, getting back key pieces like Evan Stewart and Noah Thomas to add to the mix.
