Memorable receptions by Texas A&M pass-catchers

It was a sleepless summer night.

Unable to catch Zs, my thoughts, ironically, turned to great catches seen while covering Texas A&M football games since 1993.

Christian Kirk vs. Arizona State and Arkansas, KC Concepcion vs. Notre Dame, Ashton Bethel-Roman vs. South Carolina, Caleb Chapman vs. Florida, Jace Sternberger vs. South Carolina, Jalen Wydermyer vs. Alabama and Travis Labhart vs. Duke.

So many came to mind that I felt compelled to list my 12 most memorable.

Again, these are pass completions that I witnessed while covering the games. Sometimes two were made in the same game.

They are listed in chronological order so as not to insinuate that one completion was greater than others.

1. McNeal to Porter (vs. Oklahoma, 2002): The Aggies were hanging tough, but No. 1 Oklahoma still seemed in control with a 13-6 lead and only 20 seconds remaining in the first half. However, everything seemed to change when true freshman quarterback Reggie McNeal found Greg Porter open in the back of the end zone. The 40-yard touchdown pass tied the score, gave A&M momentum and made hopes of a stunning upset seem entirely possible.

2. McNeal to Murphy (vs. Oklahoma, 2002): In the same game, A&M trailed OU just 23-20 going late in the third quarter. The Aggies were at the Oklahoma 40-yard line when McNeal looked deep for Terrence Murphy, who had gotten behind two Sooner defensive backs on the post pattern. Murphy caught a perfect pass five yards deep in the end zone for what proved to be the winning touchdown in a 30-26 victory over the top-ranked Sooners.

3. Manziel to Evans (at Ole Miss, 2012): The outlook was bleak. The mistake-plagued Aggies trailed Ole Miss by 10 points midway through the fourth quarter. They faced third-and-19 at their own 3-yard line. Johnny Manziel threw deep down the right sideline for Mike Evans, who was well covered by Ole Miss cornerback Senquez Golson. The pass was underthrown, but the 6-foot-5 Evans reached over Golson to make the catch for a 32-yard gain. Everything changed after that moment. A&M scored two plays later, got a fourth-down stop on the ensuing Ole Miss series and then got another Manziel touchdown pass for a 30-27 come-from-behind victory.

4. Manziel to Swope (at Alabama, 2012): “Oh my gracious,” what a play. CBS announcer Verne Lundquist was duly impressed when Manziel regained control of a bobbled football, scrambled left to avoid the Alabama pass rush and found Ryan Swope alone eight yards back in the end zone. The touchdown staked A&M to a 14-0 lead midway through the first quarter. How about that?

5. Manziel to Pope (vs. Alabama, 2013): The No. 6 Aggies and No. 1 Crimson Tide were deadlocked 14-14 early in the second quarter. A&M faced third-and-8 at the Alabama 34-yard line. Manziel scrambled backward to narrowly avoid a heavy rush from Alabama’s Jeoffrey Pagan. Manziel wiggled out of a tackle attempt by Pagan, backpedaled to avoid more pressure and heaved a high pass downfield toward Evans, but Edward Pope cut in front to make a circus catch and give the Aggies first down at the Alabama 21-yard line. To summarize: Threatened by a Pagan, Manziel lofted a prayer that was answered by the Pope.

6. Manziel to Evans (vs. Alabama, 2013): Even though A&M had recovered a fumble to deny No. 1 Alabama a touchdown, the outlook was bleak. The Aggies still trailed 42-28 midway through the fourth quarter. They were also backed up at their own 5-yard line facing third-and-9. Manziel threw deep for Evans, who had gotten behind Alabama cornerback Cyrus Jones. Evans caught the football at the A&M 40-yard line, pulled away from Jones at the Alabama 30 and avoided a diving tackle attempt by Vinnie Sunseri to complete a 95-yard touchdown pass. Alas, the A&M defense could not stop Alabama, and the Aggies ultimately fell, 49-42.

7. Knight to Reynolds (vs. Arkansas, 2016): As typically was the case, the Aggies were locked in another struggle with Arkansas. A goal line stand enabled A&M to maintain a 17-17 tie late in the third quarter. Two plays later, quarterback Trevor Knight threw deep down the right sideline to Josh Reynolds, who had gained a step on the Razorbacks' cornerback. Reynolds made the catch without breaking stride at the 48 and took it the rest of the way to complete a 92-yard touchdown. The Aggies dominated play from there for a 45-24 victory.

8. Mond to Rogers (vs. LSU, 2018): It was only in the third of seven overtime periods when Kendrick Rogers made one of the most incredible grabs in college football history. Really. Trailing 49-41, A&M was facing second-and-10 at the 25-yard line. Mond moved out of the pocket to his right, and from the 38, he lofted a high-arching pass to Rogers, who was interfered with by LSU cornerback Terrence Alexander. Rogers reached up with his left hand to tip the ball upward. He maintained concentration as he fell to the turf. Rogers then grasped the football just inches from the ground for the touchdown. A&M still had to pass for a two-point conversion (Rogers caught that too) to get the tie. They needed four more overtimes until Rogers caught a pass on another two-point conversion to clinch a 74-72 victory. There were dozens of big plays, but none were as spectacular as Rogers’ touchdown in the third overtime.

9. Calzada to Smith (vs. Alabama, 2021): A&M trailed No. 1 Alabama 38-31 with three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. But quarterback Zach Calzada had moved the Aggies to the Alabama 25-yard line. On first down, Calzada stood strong in the face of a heavy pass rush and delivered a perfect throw to Ainias Smith, who had beaten Alabama defensive back Brian Branch to the right corner of the end zone. Of course, the Aggies defense denied Alabama on its ensuing possession. A&M then drove for a game-winning field goal on the final play.

10. Weigman to Muhammad (vs. LSU, 2022): The unranked Aggies entered the fourth quarter with a 24-17 lead on No. 5 LSU. On the first play of the fourth quarter, the Aggies delivered — quite literally — a one-handed knockout punch. From the 21-yard line, Moose Muhammad III, sandwiched between two LSU defenders, used just his left hand to catch a touchdown pass from Conner Weigman.

11. Reed to Craver (vs. Notre Dame, 2025): Still early in the first quarter, the Aggies trailed Notre Dame 7-0. They had second-and-2 from their own 14-yard line. Marcel Reed faked a handoff, drifted to his left and threw a short pass to Mario Craver, who’d broken open behind safety Jalen Stroman. Craver made the catch at the 26-yard line. Craver raced up the sideline and was confronted by three Notre Dame defenders at midfield. Craver spun out a tackle attempt by Stroman and Christian Gray, picked up a block from Terry Bussey on cornerback Karson Hobbs and sped the final 44 yards for a game-tying 86-yard touchdown.

12. Reed to Boerkircher (vs. Notre Dame, 2025): Could there be a more dramatic play? Trailing Notre Dame, 40-34, the Aggies faced fourth-and-goal with 22 seconds left. Reed drifted left, double-pumped and lofted a pass toward tight end Nate Boerkircher. Boerkircher got inside position on Notre Dame linebacker Drayk Bowen to score in the game-winning touchdown.

Well, that’s my list. What’s yours?