Texas A&M Football: Previewing deep-threat Caleb Chapman’s 2021 year

Caleb Chapman, Texas A&M Football Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports
Caleb Chapman, Texas A&M Football Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports
Texas A&M Football
Caleb Chapman, Texas A&M Football Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports

The Texas A&M Football team has a handful of players who are at the forefront of national media including Haynes King, Isaiah Spiller, and DeMarvin Leal. Behind the scenes, however, this Aggie football team is jam-packed with talent that won’t be headlining until the season begins.

At the forefront of that talent is Caleb Chapman, an Aggie receiver who looked like he was on track to lead the team in receiving yards and touchdowns before going down with a season-ending leg injury against Florida.

His leg injury came at the worst time, as his performance against Florida was the best yet in his three-year career with Texas A&M. That said, he’s not done yet on this team, as he could become one of the deadliest deep threats in the conference.

Texas A&M Football WR Caleb Chapman has the size and speed to be unguardable downfield

At 6-5, Caleb Chapman already had the size to be a problem against opposing corners, most of which are at least 3-4 inches shorter than him. His blazing speed is only a plus and is one of a few reasons why he’s an elite deep-threat receiver.

Chapman is set to make a full return in 2021 according to Sam Khan of The Athletic, a report that should strike fear into any member of an SEC team’s secondary.

Even though the Aggie wide receiver was slow to get going last season, we shouldn’t expect the same to happen in the 2021-22 season, as he has already proven that he can be this squad’s leading receiver, even if he dropped to the ground with an injury right after.

Thus far, Chapman is averaging 14.1 yards per reception in his career with Texas A&M. Somehow, this seems modest, especially considering his most recent performance. In 2021, he’ll look to up that number and have more than a single 100-yard receiving game, as he did against Florida in the Aggies’ huge upset from almost a year ago.

There are, however, two obstacles standing in Chapman’s way. The first is his injury history, which could prove to be an issue, as it is something that he has struggled with twice on a season-ending basis in College Station. Thankfully, his two knee injuries happened to separate knees, so the risk of reaggravation shouldn’t be at the forefront of anyone’s mind.

The second obstacle is the fact that Texas A&M has an extremely deep wide receiving corps, with players like Chase Lane, Ainias Smith, Jalen Wydermyer, and possibly even Demond Demas returning to play football in 2021. Chapman is unique to the rest of the team’s wide receivers in that he’s a tall, fast deep threat.

Hopefully, this will be enough to earn him the playing time that he’s looking for in the upcoming season. His numbers should be solid, so expect Chapman to be near the top of this team in terms of receiving yardage.