No. 6 Football Opens 2022 Season with Bearkats

Sixth-ranked Texas A&M opens the highly-anticipated 2022 season on Saturday when the Aggies host the Sam Houston Bearkats at Kyle Field.

GAME 1: #6 TEXAS A&M vs SAM HOUSTON

• Saturday, September 3 • 11:03 a.m. (CT)
• Kyle Field (102,733)
• TV: SEC Network
• Radio: Texas A&M Sports Network, Sirius/XM 81
• Live Audio: 12th Man Mobile app
• Live Stats: Click Here
• Forecast: 70% chance of rain, high 89

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

• Saturday’s opener marks the 13th meeting between Texas A&M and Sam Houston, the first since the 2013 season … the Aggies have claimed all 12 previous meetings.
• The Aggies are 15-2 in season openers at home since 2000 and have gone 8-2 in their first game of the year since joining the SEC in 2012.
• JIMBO FISHER owns an 11-1 record in season openers, including a perfect 8-0 mark when beginning the year at home.
• Senior WR AINIAS SMITH looks to extend his streak of 23 consecutive games with at least one reception, which dates back to the 2019 season ... Smith served as a team captain in 2021 and led the Aggies in receptions (41) and receiving touchdowns (6), while ranking second with 472 receiving yards.
• Junior RB DEVON ACHANE was one of the most productive backs in the nation last season, ranking 11th in the FBS with a 7.00 yard-per-carry average ... He led the A&M offense with 10 trips to the end zone, while also adding a 96-yard kickoff return score.
• A key contributor since arriving in Aggieland, DB DEMANI RICHARDSON returns for his senior season and leads all Aggies with 31 starts through 32 career games, while his 65 tackles and 6.5 TFL in 2021 are both the second-most among current Aggies.
• Junior DB JAYLON JONES has started all 22 games of his career and led the Aggies last season with a pair of picks, while also ranking second on the team with six breakups.
• Junior P NIK CONSTANTINOU led the SEC and was 10th nationally in 2021, as he boasted a 46.61 yards-per-punt average on the season ... Constantinou was named to the Ray Guy Award Preseason Watch List and was a semifinalist for the national accolade in 2020.

QUICK HITS

• Sophomore HAYNES KING was named QB1 just ahead of the Week 1 matchup with Sam Houston ... King started the first two games last season before suffering a season-ending ankle injury.
• The Aggies return two of the team’s top three scorers from a season ago in senior WR AINIAS SMITH and junior RB DEVON ACHANE ... Achane led the team last season with 11 touchdowns, while Smith added seven trips to the end zone.
• The offensive line sees great experience and depth return for 2022, led by veteran LAYDEN ROBINSON, who started 10 games at right guard last season ... Sophomores BRYCE FOSTER and REUBEN FATHEREE II were named Freshman All-Americans by the FWAA and The Athletic after making immediate impacts in 2021, as Foster started all 12 games at center and Fatheree II became a mainstay in the starting lineup at right tackle.
• The A&M defense finished the 2021 season third in the nation in scoring defense (15.9 ppg) and second in points allowed (191 pts).
• Six of the team’s top 10 tacklers return from a season ago, led by junior DB ANTONIO JOHNSON, who tallied 79 takedowns in 2021, including 53 solo tackles.
• The Aggies were tied for fifth in the SEC last season with 55 passes defended on the year ... Sophomore DB TYREEK CHAPPELL, who started the final eight games of the season at corner, was fifth in the league after defending 10 passes in 2021.
• A dependable contributor on punt return, Smith ranked 11th in the nation and was third in the SEC as he averaged 11.3 yards per return last season.
• The Aggies are 21-4 (.840 win pct.) at Kyle Field under JIMBO FISHER ... In the five seasons prior to Fisher’s arrival, the Aggies were 23-12 on their home turf (.657).
• Quick starts have been a harbinger of Aggie victories in the Jimbo Fisher era ... The Aggies are 26-4 when scoring first and a perfect 24-0 when leading after the first quarter.

MILESTONE WATCH

• Senior WR AINIAS SMITH is 52 receiving yards away from cracking the top 20 on A&M’s all-time career list as he enters the year with 1,321 yards.
• Smith is also in need of two touchdown grabs to move into seventh all-time at A&M and tie current Tampa Bay Buc Mike Evans’ (2012-13) 17 career receiving TDs ... Smith is also eight catches away from becoming the 11th Aggie in program history to catch at least 120 passes in their career.
• Smith needs 58 punt return yards to break into the top 10 on A&M’s all-time list to pass Chris Taylor’s (1997-00) mark of 76 returns for 581 yards.
• Junior RB DEVON ACHANE is 70 rushing yards away from moving into the top 40 all-time at A&M as he enters the season with 1,274 and aims to pass Trey Williams’ (2012-14) 1,343 career mark.
• Graduate DB MYLES JONES cracked the top-10 on A&M’s and the SEC’s career passes defended lists by season’s end in 2020, sitting at 10th all-time at A&M and eighth in SEC history with 28 breakups to-date.

SWISS ARMY KNIFE

• Senior WR AINIAS SMITH has been called a “Swiss Army Knife” by head coach Jimbo Fisher because of his do-it-all ability on the field.
• Smith led the Aggies with 47 receptions and was second on the team with 509 receiving yards on season ... His six touchdown catches on the year were the most among Aggies and tied him for 12th in the SEC.
• Smith has recorded six multi-touchdown games in his career ... Last season, he brought in a pair of scoring passes against No. 1 Alabama, including the game-tying score with three minutes remaining, before making two trips to the end zone in the first half at Missouri to make it back-to-back games with multiple TDs for the first time in his career.
• Smith is the only player in Texas A&M history to gain 250+ yards as a receiver, rusher, punt returner and kickoff returner, and is one of 10 players in SEC history to reach the plateau  ... Smith is one of three SEC players to have accomplished the feat in the past decade.
• Against Mississippi State, Smith became the third player in SEC history to rack up 1,000 receiving yards while also gaining 250+ yards as a rusher and returner (punt and kickoff) ... The others are Kentucky’s Randall Cobb (2008-10) and LSU’s Skyler Green (2002-05).
• A&M’s go-to on punt return, Smith finished the season 11th in the nation with an 11.3 yards-per-return average, good for third in the SEC ... He recorded the first special teams TD of his career on A&M’s first possession of the game against South Carolina when he posted the sixth-longest punt return in SEC history, going 95 yards to the house.

SEC Punt Return Leaders
(min. 10 returns)

ACHANE IS OFF THE CHAIN

• Junior RB DEVON ACHANE looks to lead the Aggies as the premier back this season after flexing his speed and versatility last year.
• Achane led the SEC and was second in the nation (min. 100 attempts) averaging 7.00 yards per carry last season, while also pacing A&M’s kickoff return team that ranked No. 2 in the country, averaging 30.55 yards per return.
• Achane reached the end zone as rusher, receiver and returner, leading the offense with 10 touchdowns.
• In the win over New Mexico, Achane’s success came through the air as he caught all three passes that came his way and finished the day with 45 yards and the second receiving TD of his career.
• Achane put his speed on display in the win over No. 1 Alabama when he returned a third quarter kickoff 96 yards to the end zone.
• Against Prairie View, Achane’s two trips to the end zone marked the sixth multi-TD game of his career, fourth of the year ... He also tallied four 100-yard games as a sophomore to bring his career total to six through his first two seasons.
• The talented back also runs track for the Aggies, already receiving NCAA All-America selections in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay ... In April of this year, Achane clocked the sixth-fastest time in A&M history in the 200m (20.20) and posted a time of 10.14 in the 100m at the 2022 Texas Relays. 

THE MAROON GOONS

• The Texas A&M offensive line returns great experience from last season ... Led by junior LAYDEN ROBINSON, the Aggies return three of five starters from a year ago.
• Robinson is in his second year as a starter after helping clear the way for one of the top running back tandems in the nation in 2021 ... He was a key reserve in 2020 when A&M became the first school in the last 10 years to lead the SEC in sacks allowed (0.7), tackles for loss allowed (3.8) and yards per carry (5.45) in the same season.
• In 2021, the Maroon Goons cleared the way for a pair of 100-yard rushers in the same game on three occasions, as the duo of ISAIAH SPILLER and DEVON ACHANE rushed for over 100 yards a combined 10 times on the year.
• Sophomores BRYCE FOSTER and REUBEN FATHEREE II made immediate impacts in their debut seasons as Foster started all 12 games at center and Fatheree II earned a starting role at right tackle for the final nine games of the season ... The pair of newcomers were recognized for their hard work as they were named Freshman All-Americans by the FWAA and The Athletic.
• Sophomore AKI OGUNBIYI, along with redshirt freshmen MATTHEW WYKOFF and TREY ZUHN III, added depth for the Aggies off the bench last season with Ogunbiyi starting four of the eight games he appeared in.

SEASONED SECONDARY RETURNS

• A&M boasts a seasoned secondary that returns four starters, including senior DEMANI RICHARDSON and junior JAYLON JONES, who have combined to start 52 games.
• The Aggies return six of their top 10 tacklers from the 2021 season, four of which were secondary starters ... While Richardson boasts the most career tackles on the current roster (172), junior ANTONIO JOHNSON is the top returner in the category after tallying 79 tackles, 53 solo last year.
• A&M’s 55 passes defended last season was good for fifth among SEC teams ... Sophomore TYREEK CHAPPELL was fifth  in the SEC with 10 passes defended in his debut season, nine of which were breakups, which tied him for fourth in the league ... Jones added eight passes defended, putting him in a tie for 13th in the SEC.
• The Aggies were one of the best in the nation at limiting their opponents last season, finishing the year second in the country in points allowed (191) and third in scoring defense (15.9) ... A&M led the SEC in yards allowed (3,930) and pass yards allowed (2,312). 

JOHNSON EMERGES AS LEADER

• Junior DB ANTONIO JOHNSON emerged as one of the SEC’s top tacklers among DBs in his first season as the Aggies’ starter at nickel in 2021.
• Johnson tallied 79 tackles on the year, which was the second most on the team ... He led the Aggies and was tied for 11th in the SEC with 53 solo takedowns.
• On the season, Johnson led the team in tackles in four games, including against Mississippi State when he tallied a career-high 15 ... He added 11 tackles at Ole Miss to record the second double-digit tackle game of his young career.
• Against Prairie View, Johnson laid the boom on the Panthers’ QB to force a fumble and set up an Aggie defensive touchdown as he registered both stats for the first time in his career.
• Johnson was third on the team with five passes defended last season and recorded the first interception of his career when he picked off Missouri in the first quarter and returned the ball 6 yards. 

NEW FACES, NEW ROLES

• The Aggies have welcomed 41 freshmen and a pair of new coaches for the 2022 season, as well as four transfers.
• The A&M coaching staff saw a shift in roles during the offseason as ELIJAH ROBINSON was promoted to Assistant Head Coach/Run Game Coordinator, while also remaining as the defensive line coach ... JAMES COLEY has joined DARRELL DICKEY in the role of offensive coordinator, and moved position groups to coach the wide receivers while Dickey will now oversee the tight ends ... TYLER SANTUCCI was promoted to co-defensive coordinator and remains with the linebackers ... After spending his first four seasons in Aggieland as the WR coach, DAMEYUNE CRAIG will work with the quarterbacks this season ... BRANDON SANDERS was promoted to head strength & conditioning coach in the offseason after serving as an assistant in the weight room for the last four seasons.
• DJ DURKIN was named A&M’s defensive coordinator early in the offseason after two seasons as the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Ole Miss ... This is the third SEC stop for the 20-year coaching veteran after he also spent five seasons on Florida’s staff.
• STEVE ADDAZIO also joined the Aggie coaching staff as the offensive line coach ahead of the 2022 season ... Addazio brings nearly 40 years of coaching experience to Aggieland, including six seasons on staff at Florida helping the Gators claim a pair of BCS national championships and 12 seasons as a head coach.
• LSU transfer QB MAX JOHNSON highlights a quartet of newcomers that made the move to Aggieland ... Johnson earned the starting job as a sophomore in 2021 and went 225-of-373 for 2,815 yards and 27 TDs ... He was fourth in the league averaging 234.5 passing yards per game while his total yards and touchdown tosses also ranked among the top six in the SEC. 

A WINNER

• Head coach JIMBO FISHER, one of five active head coaches to win the national championship and ranks as the fourth-winningest active head coach in the Power 5.

 Winningest P5 Head Coaches (By Pct.)
(minimum six seasons)