Texas A&M junior WR named to USA TODAY's Top 100 CFB player rankings

It's fair to say that Texas A&M enters the 2026 season under the radar, no matter how much talent third-year coach Mike Elko has returned and acquired from the transfer portal months after leading the Aggies to the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history . However, after a record 10 players were selected in the 2026 NFL Draft, the national perception is that the Aggies will take a step back this fall.

Until the games are played, predictions are meaningless, but they do provide a window into what fans should expect, and with the new nine-game SEC schedule, half of the conference could end the season at 9-3 or 8-4, making the College Football Playoff Committee's job that much harder, knowing that a 9-3 team has yet to make the 12-team field.

Texas A&M 's brutal schedule includes road tests vs. LSU , Missouri , Alabama , South Carolina , and Oklahoma before hosting the Texas Longhorns to end the regular season. On paper, A&M can afford to lose only two of those games while staying undefeated at home, which would mean defeating Texas for the first time in more than a decade.

On both sides of the ball, Texas A&M's roster is chalk full of NFL talent, while redshirt junior quarterback Marcel Reed returns for his second full starting season, aided by one of the deepest wide receiver rotations in the country, junior Mario Craver , who reeled in 59 receptions for 917 yards and 4 touchdowns after transferring from Mississippi State , was the only Aggie named in USA TODAY's Top 100 college football player rankings.

Coming in at No. 95, writer Austin Curtwright detailed why the elite playmaker made the cut:

"Craver caught 59 passes for 917 yards with four touchdowns last season as a sophomore, but now has the opportunity to be Marcel Reed 's top target after KC Concepcion was drafted in the first round. The former Mississippi State transfer stalled out late in the season but was on pace for a monster campaign through nonconference play, combining for 443 receiving yards and four touchdowns in Texas A&M's three wins to open the season against UTSA, Utah State and Notre Dame. The explosive 5-9 receiver could be in for a huge year with the Aggies, especially if Reed takes a step forward as a passer."

"Craver caught 59 passes for 917 yards with four touchdowns last season as a sophomore, but now has the opportunity to be Marcel Reed 's top target after KC Concepcion was drafted in the first round.

The former Mississippi State transfer stalled out late in the season but was on pace for a monster campaign through nonconference play, combining for 443 receiving yards and four touchdowns in Texas A&M's three wins to open the season against UTSA, Utah State and Notre Dame. The explosive 5-9 receiver could be in for a huge year with the Aggies, especially if Reed takes a step forward as a passer."

With the addition of Alabama transfer WR Isaiah Horton , whose 6'4" frame adds critical size to an already speedy wide receiver corps, which, if the four new starters along the offensive line hold up, should result in Marcel Reed matching his 2025 passing production and cutting down his interception numbers.

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