This week has presented a rollercoaster of emotions for Texas A&M football and senior wide receiver Ainias Smith. In an exclusive interview, Smith offered his thoughts on the change in leadership, his last game at Kyle Field and much more.
Key notes from Ainias Smith interview
- It has been tough. It has been a little different. The first couple of days, I was a little out of wack, knowing the person who recruited me to Texas A&M was gone. It has been different. Elijah Robinson has come right in and stepped up for us. Thanks to him. I’ve been trying to continue to finish the season, work and have the same mission and goal as we did at the beginning of the season.
- I remember Jimbo Fisher being at the little 7-on-7 tournaments because his son was playing at the same time. I had a huge catch at the end of a game, and I celebrated like crazy. I remember coming up here on a visit, and he told me he saw everything. That was crazy.
- I’d definitely say that I had a unique relationship with Fisher.
- That Sunday meeting, everybody came in. It was a little confusing at first. A lot of people didn’t even know we were having a meeting, so we had to wait for people to get there. A lot of guys were hurt, and the coaching staff basically gave us the day off because they didn’t know how we were going to take it. There was a lot of confusion around the whole facility.
- We’re trying to stay together. Robinson and the staff told us we were going to stick together as a brotherhood. The message is to keep playing for whatever reason you have.
- It’s surreal that this will be my last game at Kyle Field. I’ll probably feel more different after the game than I do right now. Right now, I’m just making sure we get the win. Right now, I’m focused on getting the opportunity for other guys to play that usually don’t get to. The 12th Man has given so much to me. It’s going to be wild that it’s my last game.
- I have to thank God. I’m very blessed and thankful for the opportunity. Without God or Jesus, I wouldn’t be here. I’m proud. I’m proud of myself for coming back after injury. I was in a dark place, so I’m proud of how I’ve been able to grow. I’m proud to be able to reap the benefits. I still don’t think I’ve done enough, but I guess I’ve had a pretty good year. I feel like I could do so much more. I have to just keep going.
- I want to go further back to the bye week. Going into South Carolina, we were tired of losing. That clicked. I’m tired of losing. Against South Carolina, we wanted to reset. We didn’t want to keep allowing ourselves to constantly get into these close games. We wanted to put our foot on the gas. It took a collective effort. We came up short at Ole Miss. It was tough, but during the week, we had good practices. We had to do everything right because we’ve seen how close we can come and still not get what we want. We’re tired of losing, and that has been showing.
- We’ve been planning the Spider-Man celebration. Amari Daniels, Jahdae Daniels and I had been planning it. Rueben Owens wanted in too, but he ended up messing it up. We got it done at the end.
- I have nothing but good things to say about Jaylen Henderson. He came in ready to work and was really eager. He was getting extra work on off days. He’d call us up on Saturdays. He was the new guy for a while, and we didn’t think he’d be in the rotation because of the competition that was ahead of him. At the same time, he stayed in the moment, and he was ready for it.
- During the week with Henderson, the practices were different. They wanted to go in with a different game plan because of who he is. The game plan was perfect for him. He was making the ready and making tight throws. You could see his leadership in practice. His actions were showing, and I believe that his actions are what got everybody behind him. We knew he was somebody we could count on. The questions were answered as soon as he came into the game.
