Ainias Smith reveals why he returned to Texas A&M for 2023

Texas A&M wide receiver Ainias Smith could’ve easily moved on after the 2022 season, which injury cut to four games. But the senior chose to return for a fifth year in College Station.

Ahead of spring practice, Smith spoke with reporters and delved in to his decision to return. Unlike the bevy of Aggies who went to the transfer portal or the draft-eligible players who declared, Smith wanted to come back for a chance at a redemptive season.

Plus, his injury was likely going to curtail a full and functional pre-draft process.

“So I mean, it definitely played probably the biggest role,” Smith said. “Really just trying to put the timeline together on when I’d be able to go full go. Whether or not I’d be able to perform at my best in the combine or even pro day, whether I had to push it back or not. There was a lot things that played a role into it. Definitely the injury was something that I had to go and attack, full speed. Especially, whether or not I was going to come back or leave. I just really wanted to go and get back healthy.

“I remember the first few weeks after I had gotten hurt, I just wanted to walk. I wasn’t able to walk. I wasn’t even able to hobble around. And I wasn’t really able to have too much motion or movement going around.”

Smith went down against Arkansas in the fourth game for Texas A&M, and the Aggies went on a six-game losing skid that coincided with him leaving the lineup. Texas A&M salvaged a pair of wins at the end of the year to make a dismal season merely bad in the record column, and Smith would love to be part of reversing that course.

“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. 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 said.

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.”

Smith does have a handful of NIL deals, but they all pre-date his injury in 2022.

Coming back to Texas A&M for a fifth season wasn’t necessarily in the original plan for Smith, but he’s happy with the way things have unfolded and excited for a new opportunity to leave a mark for the Aggies.

“Man, to be honest, there was a lot that went into the decision,” Smith said. “I could probably be sitting here for two hours, talking about everything that played a part into it. It really just boiled down to making the best decision for my family, myself. Really just coming back, it’s definitely something that, I wouldn’t say it was unexpected but it was definitely — it just wasn’t part of the first plan or whatever. But of course, came back. I’m very excited to be here. The spring gets here and I’m just ready to get going. Ready to get back on the field.”