Ainias Smith says return to action was 'fun'

After an injury cut short his 2022 season, Texas A&M wideout Ainias Smith is back for a fifth season. And getting to get back to nearly-live football during the spring game on Saturday was a welcome treat.

Though Kyle Field and the Aggie faithful weren’t as raucous as a fall Saturday, Smith loves any chance to get in front of the home crowd on the home field. He even quipped that he wished he wasn’t wearing the yellow non-contact jersey during the scrimmage.

“Well, I wish I didn’t have the yellow jersey on. But, nah, it felt real good,” Smith said playfully. “I’ve been out there practicing and whatnot. Just to be out there in Kyle Field again, in a game-like environment, of course the stadium wasn’t as packed and we weren’t playing a full game, but it was fun. Going out there and competing, finding the tempo in our offense. Making sure that we’re finishing plays and going all the way to the whistle, it felt really good, just being out there.”

Smith had 15 receptions for 291 yards and two touchdowns prior to getting hurt in 2022. He was potentially on pace to set career highs for receptions, yards and touchdowns in a season, but didn’t get the chance to even see how close he might get.

And along with missing the final eight games of the season, Smith also wasn’t going to have a proper NFL Draft prep period due to his injury. With that in mind, plus a desire to help right the ship at Texas A&M, Smith came back for a fifth year.

“It was definitely fun playing with the guys. Being able to come back and seeing their reactions of my decision to come back was definitely exciting to see,” Smith said in late March. “It’s an experience that I had to come back and witness, with a lot of guys transferring. A lot of new guys that enrolled, it was a lot of new faces. New coaching staff. Everything played out for the best, we’re just going to get better from here.”

Smith has one of the better NIL valuations for a college football player who isn’t in the “face of the sport” tier like a Caleb Williams or Marvin Harrison Jr. He’s No. 63 in On3’s NIL 100 and No. 40 among college football players with a valuation of $642,000 — the theoretic upper limit of what Smith could earn on NIL deals.

But NIL or any sort of deal had no bearing on his return to Texas A&M, he said.

“Absolutely not. I have not signed anything. I’m here off my own will and I’m just ready to work and get back on the field,” Smith said. “I don’t really care for the money, forreal. I’m just trying to ball.”