A&M loses top WR Smith to season-ending injury

Texas A&M main broad receiver Ainias Smith will miss the remainder of the season with a leg damage, coach Jimbo Fisher mentioned Monday.

Smith, a senior, sustained the damage whereas blocking in the course of the third quarter of Saturday’s win over Arkansas. Fisher would solely describe Smith’s damage as decrease physique, however Smith’s father, Maurice, advised the Bryan Faculty Station Eagle that the wideout sustained a fracture in his leg. Smith leads Texas A&M with 15 receptions for 291 yards and two touchdowns.

“Variety and management and expertise,” Fisher mentioned when requested what Texas A&M would miss most in dropping Smith. “However he’ll be round to assist these guys and mentor these guys, and that is one of the best he can do. He is a novel participant, he is a novel competitor and I really like him to demise. It is simply an unlucky scenario.”

Smith has 127 profession receptions for 1,612 yards and 17 touchdowns, in addition to 384 dashing yards and 4 touchdowns on 67 carries.

He served as a captain in 2021, and he has began video games in every of the previous 4 seasons.

Smith might return to Texas A&M in 2023 due to the additional season of eligibility granted in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.

ESPN charges Smith because the No. 114 general prospect for the 2023 NFL draft.