Ainias Smith shares positivity after Texas A&M's spring practices

Spring practice had come to an end in College Station, as Texas A&M looks to improve on their disappointing season from a year ago. And according to wide receiver Ainias Smith, it’s looking up for the Aggies, as he positively assessed the team’s morale following their Maroon & White Spring Game.

“Spring is coming to an end and I can definitely say this is probably one of the most interesting springs I’ve went through just because of how fun it was,” Smith said. “We were out there every day competing even on the weekends on Saturdays most of the time people don’t usually want to wake up, go out there, and practice in the heat or some days it was cold this year.”

Texas A&M finished last season 5-6 with a 2-6 record in conference play, tying Vanderbilt and Auburn for the worst records in the SEC. But the Aggies have a different mindset this season according to Smith, overcoming the struggles that come with spring practice and getting each other better on a daily basis.

“But I mean even when we was out there and some people didn’t want to be out there, we was getting very good work. Great quality work offense and defense, sometimes we were beating ourselves and the opposing side would capitalize off of that or whatnot,” Smith said. “But this year has definitely been very very hopeful, very hopeful for sure.”

Smith has been one of the most valuable pieces of the Aggies’ offense for the last four years, but his senior season was cut short due to a season-ending leg injury just four games into the 2022 season. The spring for him has been about getting back to full strength and feeling like himself again. Hopefully he does, and the rest of the Aggies can carry their positive attitude from the spring into the fall.

Smith on new offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino

While Smith has worked his way back from injury this spring, he’s also had to learn a offensive under new offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino, who was hired in January. Smith also pulled back the curtain on his first impressions of Petrino and his offensive philosophies.

“When I had first met him I was very intrigued to see how he would get along with everybody on the team. And he low-key surprised me because when he came in he was very quiet at first, I’m not gonna lie, he was very soft-spoken. But he definitely knew exactly what he wanted and he has a few things that he wants, but one of them is finishing. Playing with speed, making sure that we’re coming off the ball like everywhere, offensive line, receivers, running backs,” Smith explained. “Making sure we’re just playing with intensity, you know what I’m saying? And have some want to out there and make it seem like we actually want to win. So really just playing with speed, playing faster than the people that are in front of us.”