Texas A&M Football: Can wide receivers take the next step in 2021?

How do Texas A&M Football’s 2020 stats translate to the coming season?

After looking at the 913 total yards of production created by Texas A&M wide receivers last season, the initial instinct may be to worry about the future. That should not be the case, even if this unit has an off-year. Here’s why.

As mentioned, Ainias Smith led the Aggies in receiving yards in 2020. He did this while splitting time between running and receiving, and in 2021, it looks like he’ll be doing more pass-catching. It has been documented that he’s working with the receivers during spring practice and there’s no sense in forcing him into a runningback room that already has two proven guys flip-flopping in and out.

Smith still won’t be a full-time receiver, but he’ll be more of a pure wideout than he was last season. This will give the unit a huge boost. But he’s not the only add-on.

Remember the Aggies’ second-leading wide receiver from last year in Caleb Chapman? The man was second on the team in receiving yards and he only played in three games, one of which allowed him to accumulate 151 of his 197 yards.

If there’s a player who can step up as a deep threat, it’s Chapman. Look for him to pick up right where he left off in 2020.

But there’s one more piece to this puzzle, and he goes by the name of Demond Demas.

Demas was one of the most hyped-up players to join the Aggies’ roster in a long time. He was big, fast, and could jump out of the gym (or football stadium). But he didn’t see any playing time during his freshman year. This came as a result of the fact that he played in an oversimplified system in high school, making the college level a steeper learning curve.

A year has passed, and you can guarantee that he has learned the playbook enough to step into the game. Expect Demas to be the boost that this receiving core has been looking for. At 6-3 180 lbs, he’ll be a much larger presence on the outside to compliment Ainias Smith’s speed and quickness.

If these two can play off one another effectively, this could be a scary wide receiving unit.