Completing the puzzle: Adding big-play receiving threats key for Aggies

Since arriving at Texas A&M, head coach Jimbo Fisher has been methodically putting together the pieces of a championship-caliber football team.

The puzzle is almost complete. One last piece remains.

One could say it’s quarterback because the Aggies must replace highly-productive Kellen Mond. Except Fisher has an incredible track record of developing quarterbacks, and he has more than a few highly-regarded prospects to develop already on the roster.

The offensive line might seem like the answer, and linemen are like the edge pieces of a puzzle. Use them to set the foundation, and everything else falls into place.

Bailey Orr/Texas A&M Athletics

While the Aggies didn’t take too many shots down the field in 2020, maybe the year's biggest play was a 51-yard bomb from Mond to Chapman vs. Florida.

Except Fisher has a load of five- and four-star prospects in the offensive line. The talent is there for A&M to continue its dominance up front. It’s not a matter of ability but a matter of gaining experience.

From here, the final piece of the puzzle is the receiving position.

To be more specific: Developing game-breaking deep threats that can provide big plays and force defenses to stretch out.

You’d love the thought of Texas A&M receivers routinely running past defensive backs for significant gains.

You’d also love the idea of running backs Isaiah Spiller and Devon Achane running against defenses that can’t crowd the line of scrimmage for fear of getting beat deep.

The Aggies did not have that consistent deep threat last season. Mond threw only 19 touchdown passes. Just five of those covered more than 20 yards.

Two of those were long runs after short tosses. Ainias Smith turned a 5-yard pass into a 47-yard tight rope run down the sideline against Alabama. Chase Lane turned a short throw on a crossing route into a 51-yard touchdown against Mississippi State.

The deep passes for scores were a 51-yard throw from quarterback Mond to Caleb Chapman against Florida. Mond hit Smith down the sideline for 35-yards against Arkansas. Mond threw deep for a 52-yard touchdown to Achane against South Carolina.

Alabama had three touchdown passes of more than 60 yards against A&M.

Jasen Vinlove/USA Today Sports

Ainias Smith was A&M’s leading receiver in 2020 and amassed 564 yards receiving.

Despite the absence of a vertical threat, the Aggies still managed nine victories and finished fourth in the national polls.

Adding the over-the-top big-play element to the passing game appears to be the key for A&M becoming a national championship contender.

Indeed, that element has been a mainstay to recent national championships. In fact, recent national champions have been infested with NFL caliber receivers.

Alabama receivers DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle project as first-round picks in the 2021 NFL draft. John Metchie, who had a 78-yard touchdown against A&M, may be projected that high in 2023.

LSU’s 2019 championship team was stocked at receiver. Justin Jefferson was a first-round pick of the Vikings. Ja’Marr Chase is projected as a first-round pick in 2021. Terrace Marshall figures to be a high round pick, too.

Clemson won the 2018 national title with receivers Tee Higgins, the first selection of the second round of the 2020 draft, and Justyn Ross, who could be a first-round pick next year.

No question, A&M needs receivers of that caliber. Receivers that dominate the collegiate competition and become high NFL draft choices. The real question is whether the Aggies already have them.

Here are three big “ifs:”

• If Chapman comes back strong from the knee injury which ended his 2020 season prematurely...
• If Ainias Smith continues to progress...
• If Demond Demas lives up to his five-star rating…

If those questions are answered, could the Aggies have the best receiving corps in the Southeastern Conference next season?

Justin Schoenemann

Demond Demas’ unique athleticism makes him a very intriguing prospect.

They might, especially considering they also have Chase Lane and Hez Jones returning, Camron Buckley coming back from injury, and Moose Muhammad and Shadrach Banks‍ — like Demas — are exciting prospects.

There could be some high draft choices among that group, especially Demas, who has incredible talent. He didn’t play much last year and did not catch a pass, but that should not be a concern.

Remember, former Texas Tech star Michael Crabtree redshirted his freshman year and went on to become a two-time winner of the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s best receiver.

Closer to home, Mike Evans redshirted in 2011. He had the best receiving year in Texas A&M history in 2013 and became a first-round draft choice.

Receivers were not a high priority in A&M’s 2021 recruiting class. The Aggies signed only Banks and Yulkeith Brown‍, though they did offer others. That would seem to indicate the big-play potential at receiver is believed to already be on the roster.

In that case, the Aggies would have all the pieces the complete a championship puzzle.