Texas A&M Football: Caleb Chapman’s injury crushes receiving corps

During the Florida matchup, starting wide out Caleb Chapman sustained an apparent leg injury. Where does Texas A&M football go from here?

Junior starting receiver Caleb Chapman sustained an injury to his knee on his 51-yard touchdown grab, his second of the day, against Florida on Saturday afternoon. This is not his first season-ending injury he’s had as he sustained one in 2018 as a freshman that also ended his season prematurely.

A video of the injury from Saturday can be seen here.

The question is this: Who steps up now? With Jhamon Ausbon already opting out and Camron Buckley tearing an ACL in practice, it would seem that the options may be getting thin.

The obvious options are Chase Lane, who already stepped up on Saturday as well as tight end Jalen Wydermeyer and receiver/running back Ainias Smith. Maybe Kam Brown, who did have one catch on Saturday. But those are guys who the Aggies already know about.

Who steps up in Chapman’s spot?

The first option is Jalen Preston, the redshirt sophomore. He hasn’t shown much, making the start at Vanderbilt and at Alabama. He didn’t record a reception against Florida, but I would predict that he will be getting more involved now that Chapman is out for the year.

Another option, the one that the fans want to see, is freshman Demond Demas. He hasn’t played in a couple of years after losing a year of eligibility from UIL in high school. The other true freshman is Moose Muhammad III, a talented receiver in his own right who made his first start against Alabama, though he didn’t record a catch.

Junior Hezekiah Jones is also an option, though he is injured and listed as day-to-day.

To be honest, Texas A&M football quite a few options here to replace Chapman, but it isn’t going to be easy. He was a huge part of making this offense finally click and the Aggies now have to figure it out with someone else.