BATON ROUGE, La. — KC Concepcion zig-zagged up Tiger Stadium’s turf, tightrope walked his way around defenders to remain in bounds next to the home team’s sideline and sprinted back in the opposition to jog the second half of his punt return completely untouched.
A member of LSU’s staff spiked his headset into the dirt before the Texas A&M wide receiver had even crossed into the end zone.
Speed and explosivity — especially the variety which the Aggies have — may cause that side effect for opponents.
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The Aggies (8-0, 5-0 SEC) steamrolled their way to a 49-25 win Saturday night at Tiger Stadium in large part because they were the most physical team and the most cohesive offense, yes, but the pure athleticism and agility displayed by their quarterback and wide receivers were what lit the fuse for a definitive win in head coach Mike Elko’s tenure.
“I think that’s the biggest thing we talked about having to do, to flip, where we were trying to go,” Elko said. “If you look at teams that have won the SEC, the teams that have gotten far in the playoffs, they have explosive playmakers on offense that can take the game over.”
That’s more than an anecdotal reference. Ohio State won last year’s national championship with wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (who reached 21.7 mph in a game last season) and running back TreVeyon Henderson (who ran a 4.43 second 40-yard dash time at this spring’s NFL combine) factored heavily into their scheme.
Texas lost to those Buckeyes in the Cotton Bowl but reached the semifinals in part because of wide receivers Matthew Golden (4.29 second 40-yard dash time) and Isaiah Bond (4.39 second 40-yard dash time). The Longhorns had wide receiver Xavier Worthy and his ludicrous 4.21 second 40-yard dash time the season prior when they reached the semifinals for the first time. Ask them if they’d like to have those caliber of athletes back this season.
The Aggies don’t need to beg. Concepcion ran a 4.43 40-yard dash time last summer, per 247Sports.com, and Craver clocked a 10.74 100-meter dash time at the high school level. Running back Rueben Owens Jr. charted four sub.-11 second 100-meter dash times at El Campo before he enrolled early at College Station and Reed has his own wheels. He outran the entire Tigers defense for a 41-yard touchdown in the first quarter of Saturday night’s win and totaled 108 yards on the ground.
“Me running down the field, 40 something yards, at whatever weight I and and whatever height I am, I don’t know, those guys should be faster than me,” the 6-foot-1, 185 pound Reed said. “They’re not.”
They weren’t quick enough to catch Concepcion, either, and he finished with 177 total all-purpose yards because of it. Craver caught a modest four passes Saturday night but has been a must-cover big-play threat for the Aggies this season. His acrobatic 86-yard touchdown against Notre Dame last month helped spark A&M’s first ranked road win this fall.
Concepcion, a N.C. State transfer, and Craver, a Mississippi State transfer, may arguably create A&M’s most talented wide receiver duo in at least a decade. Craver’s 716 receiving yards and Concepcion’s seven touchdowns both rank second in the conference. Craver has the highest receiver grade in the SEC, per Pro Football Focus, and Craver ranks fifth. They are the only teammate duo within the top five.
“We felt like it was critical when I took over that we add those elements,” Elko said. “We have them in the backfield, we have them at wide receiver, we have them at quarterback with the ball in his hands every play. I think that makes us a really challenging offense to defend.”
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