For as long as the Air Raid offense has been around, quick-hitting passes to the flat and short slant routes have been a staple and key to the pace that keeps defenses on their heels.

But the ability, or at least the threat, to occasionally go over the top and look deep is also important to an Air Raid team’s success and it was an element missing from the Texas A&M offense in 2014.

Last season, no Texas A&M receiver came close to matching Mike Evans’ 20.2 yards per catch in 2013. Josh Reynolds led the Aggies with 16.2 yards per catch. Speedy Noil averaged 12.7 and Ricky Seals-Jones just 9.5 yards per reception.

But even the modest yards per catch numbers last season were deceptively high. The Aggies receivers were particularly good at gaining yardage after the catch and with inexperienced quarterbacks Kenny Hill and Kyle Allen taking the lion’s share of the snaps they seemed content to make most of their throws within seven yards of the line of scrimmage.

But as the Aggies look to increase their production in the run game with a pair of big, powerful backs in Tra Carson and James White, they will need to do a better job stretching the field.

That means both receivers and quarterbacks need to step up in that regard. The question may be whether or not the Aggies have the personnel needed to do it. In Kevin Sumlin’s first two seasons at A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel and wideout Mike Evans were the two players most responsible for the Aggies ability to throw it downfield.

Manziel’s knack for keeping plays alive with his feet put extra pressure on defensive backs to hold their coverage longer than usual and Evans was such an incredible athlete he was often able to come down with catches even when he wasn’t particularly open.

This year’s starting quarterback, Kyle Allen, isn’t a scrambler to match Manziel, but he and freshman backup Kyler Murray are both known for their strong arms. So it would seem the onus falls on the receiving corps to find ways separate from the coverage.

LaQuvionte Gonzalez had shown breakaway speed and an ability to get open down field in a back up role, but he transferred out, following former A&M wide receivers coach David Beaty to Kansas. Seals-Jones’ first career catch before taking a medical redshirt in 2013 was a 71-yard touchdown, but he was more of a possession receiver last season.

It’s all just another reason so many eyes will be on freshman Christian Kirk when the Aggies take the field Saturday. Kirk was a five-star prospect and one of the most regarded receivers in the nation coming out of high school. Arriving in College Station in the spring seems to have helped him secure a starting role for his college debut and expectations are sky high.

But during the spring, Kirk showed a greater ability to find holes underneath the coverage than to break away deep. So perhaps Speedy Noil will live up to his name and blow by defensive backs to get behind the coverage or maybe the answer to this particular riddle is the man who led the Aggies in both receiving yards (842) and touchdowns (13).

While Reynolds wasn’t a deep threat to the level of Mike Evans the year before, he did break his school record for touchdown receptions while playing with an injured shoulder he had surgically repaired during the offseason. While two healthy shoulders won’t make Reynolds faster, he has said he feels more comfortable dealing with physical corners at the line of scrimmage and feels like he should be able to get better separation on his routes this season.

The Aggies have plans to share the wealth and distribute the ball fairly evenly to their talented quartet of wide receivers, but don’t be surprised if Reynolds is the one who winds up making the most big plays.