Projecting Whether Texas A&M Football Upperclassmen Stay or Go

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Nov 11, 2023; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies wide receiver Ainias Smith (0) reacts during the first quarter against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports /

Could Ainias Smith Return for a Sixth Year with Texas A&M Football?

Ainias is another guy who was an immediate contributor as soon as he got on campus. Making his debut in 2019, all the way back in the distant days of the shoulder-stripe uniforms, Smith immediately flashed, showing a lot of ability to gain yards after the catch that the other Aggie wide receivers at the time—Jhamon Ausbon, Quartney Davis, and Kendrick Rogers—just didn’t quite have.

Smith caught 22 passes for 248 yards and 3 touchdowns in 2019 as a pure receiver, eventually returning punts as well. His role expanded in 2020, as he saw time in the backfield as well. He became a feature part of the offense in that year, notching 857 total yards as both a receiver and back. Since then, though, he’s been mostly a receiver—and one of the best ones on the field every single game. He caught the legendary game-tying touchdown against Alabama in a moment that will live on in Texas A&M football lore forever, and has been a top offensive weapon for the Aggies in every game he’s played in.

That’s why his injury in 2022 was such a big deal. Even though the Aggies had a lot of talent at the position, his experience could not be replicated—perhaps his presence would have overturned some of those close losses. He made the call to return to College Station this past offseason; will he do so again?

A lot rides on the offensive coordinator here. There is a huge draw in playing with a guy who the players all know as one of the best quarterbacks in the sport in Conner Weigman, so from one perspective you could see the prolific receiver coming back for one more year to bolster his numbers in a high powered offense. However, it’s also possible that the longtime Aggie feels as though he’s put up as many numbers as he can, and that one more year wouldn’t change much with regard to his draft status. I lean towards Ainias testing the waters in the league, sad to say.

Update: just after I finished writing this article, this was tweeted! So I’d say pretty good chance Ainias is not coming back.