Texas A&M wide receiver Ainias Smith out for season with lower body injury

Ainias Smith was responsible for 1/4th of the Texas A&M offense

Texas A&M wide receiver Ainias Smith will miss the rest of the 2022 college football season with a lower body injury he suffered on Saturday.

Smith sustained the injury during the No. 17 ranked Aggies' two-point win over No. 20 Arkansas over the weekend.

Smith was blocking downfield on a play but was rolled up from behind. He required aid coming off the field and appeared to be emotional as he met with his father on the sidelines.

Maurice, the player's father, said his son suffered a fracture in his right leg.

"He's a unique player, a unique competitor, and I love him to death," Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher told reporters. "It's just an unfortunate situation."

Smith was key to Texas A&M's offense

Losing a contributor of Smith's production will cut into an offense that was already lacking a consistently explosive deep passing threat.

Smith led the Aggies in receiving each of the last two seasons. 

He had 15 receptions for 291 yards and two touchdowns in his brief showing this season, and accounted for 26% of the team's catches, 38% of its receiving yards, and 40% of its receiving touchdowns.

Smith caught 47 balls for 509 yards and six touchdowns a season ago when A&M went 8-4 and defeated No. 1 Alabama at home. 

The year before, he had 43 receptions for 564 yards and six touchdowns, in addition to 49 carries for 293 yards and 4 additional touchdowns for the 9-1 Aggies.

In total, Smith has 127 receptions for 1,612 yards with 384 rushing yards and 12 all-purpose touchdowns in his Texas A&M career.

Where Texas A&M goes now

An already struggling offense will now look to other contributors to help build its aerial attack as it heads into the toughest part of its SEC schedule.

Evan Stewart. Second on the team with 13 catches and 141 yards, plus one of the team's 5 passing touchdowns.

Yulkeith Brown. Fourth with 9 receptions and a score and averaging almost 20 yards per play

Devon Achane. The running back is a skilled pass catcher, with 9 receptions and a score, but is under 8 ypc.

Chris Marshall. The other great new recruiting pickup in addition to Stewart has just 4 catches for 41 yards, but should see his targets go up now.

(The Eagle)

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