Texas A&M leading wide receiver Ainias Smith will miss the rest of the season with a leg injury, coach Jimbo Fisher said Monday.
Smith, a senior, sustained the injury while blocking during the third quarter of Saturday’s win over Arkansas. Fisher would only describe Smith’s injury as lower body, but Smith’s father, Maurice, told the Bryan College 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.
“Diversity and leadership and experience,” Fisher said when asked what Texas A&M would miss most in losing Smith. “But he’ll be around to help those guys and mentor those guys, and that’s the best he can do. He’s a unique player, he’s a unique competitor and I love him to death. It’s just an unfortunate situation.”
Smith has 127 career receptions for 1,612 yards and 17 touchdowns, as well as 384 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 67 carries.
He served as a captain in 2021, and he has started games in each of the past four seasons.
Smith could return to Texas A&M in 2023 because of the extra season of eligibility granted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
ESPN rates Smith as the No. 114 overall prospect for the 2023 NFL draft.