Max Wright Shines, Aggies Falter in Road Loss at South Carolina

Max Wright continued to excel his play against the Gamecocks.

Max Wright loves playing in South Carolina's Williams-Brice Stadium. Should he ever consider entering the transfer portal, Columbia should be his only call. 

Wright's biggest claim to fame as a tight end came in 2020 when Haynes King connected with him on the 42-yard touchdown in the closing minutes of a 48-3 win. That was until Saturday, when once he found the end zone on South Carolina's turf. 

Wright was one of the few bright spots in a 30-24 loss to the Gamecocks. King connected with him on third-and-goal with two minutes remaining in the second quarter to make it 17-12. A&M would convert the two-point conversion to make it 17-14 at the half. 

But again, no one is paying attention to the touchdown. Eyes are fixated on the A&M's losing record (3-4, 1-3 SEC) that continues to pile up with losses for a program that began the season at the No. 6 team in the nation. 

“We had good fluidity in the game,” A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said. “We moved the ball very well. We moved the ball better than we have. We moved the ball with much more consistency. We’ve just got to finish.”

For the first time since joining the SEC, the Bonham Trophy will remain in Columbia and the Gamecocks (5-2, 2-2). Second-year coach Shane Beamer continues to find answers in ways to defeat high-profile on Saturdays as the program inches closer to earning its winning first regular-season record since 2018. 

Wright said Monday that the Aggies were preparing for a rowdy environment found at their SEC East rival's stadium. Noise certainly factored into the offensive struggles early. During the first quarter, King tried to change the play at the line of scrimmage, but backup center Matthew Wykoff missed the call, leading to a mishandled snap and fumble recovery by South Carolina defensive tackle Tonka Hemingway.

The Gamecocks cashed in thanks to excellent field position by scoring three plays later on a 5-yard run by Christian Beal-Smith. 

“It was just miscommunication on some parts,” A&M offensive lineman Layden Robinson said. “It got loud in some areas. We can’t really depend on that. We’ve just got to go through that and have to just listen more, focus up more.”

King finished 17 of 32 for 178 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Running back Devon Achane continued to be the Aggies' top offensive weapon by rushing for 99 yards and a touchdown off 20 carries. As an offense, A&M totaled 398 yards and nearly completed the comeback after recovering an onside kick with 10 seconds left on the clock. 

Perhaps Conner Weigman, who replaced King in the fourth quarter due to a shoulder injury, might have found Wright once more if the offensive line gave him time to throw. Instead, the the last pass wobbled in the air for what felt like an eternity before laying on the turf as the clock struck zero. 

Wright, a native of Katy, would've likely taken the win over the score. He probably isn't interested in leaving Aggieland for the Palmetto State, either. At least when looking back at his career, he'll have fond memories of South Carolina. 

The Aggies return to College Station for the first time since Sept. 17 next Saturday to face No. 7 Ole Miss at 6:30 p.m. 

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