Another day, another batch of disrespect for the Texas A&M Football team. Technically, national media has been extremely complimentary of this Aggie football team, but in this case, they might have swung and missed.
Bleacher Report published an article detailing the best receiving corps in each conference for the 2021 football team and, unsurprisingly, the Aggies were near the top. That said, they weren’t as close as many fans may have expected.
For example, the Texas A&M Football team found themselves ranked 3rd in the SEC, which is still a big accomplishment. Puzzlingly, the Aggies were ranked third despite having arguably the conference’s best returning tight end, which was included in this list. We’ll get into that later.
The Texas A&M Football team has arguably the most proven receiving corps in the conference
Upon first glance, the Aggies don’t seem like a team that should be at the top of the league when it comes to any sort of receiving categories. Why would the team that was ranked 9th in the SEC in receiving yards last season be on top?
Well, for starters, Texas A&M’s 234.1 yards per contest were extremely deceptive. The Aggies had their top recruit in 5-star Demond Demas riding the bench the entire season, while the remainder of the receivers struggled with injuries and opt-outs.
That includes Caleb Chapman, who was quickly emerging as a deep threat for TAMU before going down with an injury against Florida. That also includes Jhamon Ausbon, the player who was supposed to be the Aggies’ leading returning receiver. Ausbon opted out of the 2020-21 season amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the upcoming season, Jimbo Fisher will return Ainias Smith, a versatile receiver, Caleb Chapman, a big deep threat, and perhaps most importantly, Jalen Wydermyer, a first-round caliber tight end.
The top eight receivers from last year’s team will be returning, which is why it is extremely befuddling to see the Aggies listed behind Alabama and Georgia, neither of whom have their top returning receiver coming back in 2021. Alabama specifically will lose its quarterback and top two wideouts, so why would they be listed this high?
In short, reputation. Right now, Fisher and his team won’t be concerned with their receiving corps being ranked 3rd in the SEC. If anything, it will serve as motivation for this unit to have an explosive year.
Ainias Smith will look to have another 500+ yard season, while Demond Demas could explode onto the scene with scary athleticism. Last year, he rode the bench as he adjusted to a more complicated system at the college level.
Don’t sleep on this Texas A&M Football team, as they could make some waves in college football in the upcoming season.