COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Texas A&M WR Ainias Smith announced that he would be returning for one final season with the Aggies on Thursday, which he was granted after the COVID-19 pandemic season.
Smith has been a star among Aggie wide receivers in his college football career with Texas A&M. In 2020 and 2021, Smith had over 40 receptions and over 500 receiving yards. However, Ainias's 2022 season was cut short after the Aggies entered SEC play.
In the Aggies' week four game against Arkansas, Smith suffered a season-ending leg injury that raised many questions about how the A&M offense would fare for the rest of the season.
As time would tell, underclassmen talents like Moose Muhammad III and Evan Stewart would eventually step up despite the losses that Texas A&M incurred against SEC opponents, which ended in the Aggies missing a postseason bowl game for the first time since 2008, when they were still a member of the Big 12.
While over 20 players, many who saw minimal time during their time in College Station, transferred to other programs in the first transfer portal window of the offseason, depth chart concerns still remain going into the spring, especially for the Aggie defense.
Texas A&M will open their 2023 season against New Mexico on Sept. 2.
