It had been hinted at during spring and on into fall camp that with the expected continued development of quarterback Conner Weigman, Texas A&M could have 1 of the more sneaky-good receiving corps in the SEC.

Well, we caught a glimpse of that assessment last Saturday at Kyle Field, where the Aggies opened the 2023 season with a convincing 52-10 romp of New Mexico.

Early on, it was the wide receiver duo of Evan Stewart and Noah Thomas who displayed their talents, as the Aggies found the end zone on each of their 1st 5 possessions. For the game, the 2 combined for 189 receiving yards on 14 catches and 5 touchdowns.

In a word, they were unstoppable.

Whether it was separating from defenders or making improbable back-shoulder catches, those 2 receivers helped Weigman boost his numbers (18 for 23, 236 yards, 5 TDs) and continue to develop as a quarterback.

Both wideouts recorded their 1st career multi-touchdown games. Thomas hauled in 3 scoring strikes, all in the 1st half, while Stewart added 2 more TDs while grabbing a team- and career-high 8 passes for 115 yards — his 3rd career 100-yard game. Thomas finished with 6 catches for 74 yards.

Head coach Jimbo Fisher had been waiting for this type of breakout game.

“That’s what I’ve been saying in those scrimmages and the practices,” Fisher said. “We’ve been playing really well. They’ve been very efficient. Whether it’s underneath routes, over-the-top routes, making contested catches, running moves, they’re a talented group of guys. And, you know, got — Ainias [Smith], Moose [Muhammad], Jahdae [Walker]. Jahdae had a couple of critical 3rd downs early. That whole group, it’s a very good group in my opinion. And they play well.”

Thomas was the focus in the 1st half as the Aggies took control. He got them on the scoreboard initially by snatching a Weigman pass in the back of the end zone from 15 yards out before adding TD plays covering 34 and 9 yards in the 2nd quarter.

His 3 TD receptions were the most by an Aggie since Christian Kirk (2015-17) did so in the 2017 Belk Bowl against Wake Forest. And it was the most in 1 half since Mike Evans (2012-13) equaled that number against Auburn.

Those are some iconic names in Aggie history, and it appears a new group of uber-talented receivers are poised to make names for themselves. We haven’t even talked about the contributions of Smith, perhaps the most talented of the group, who made it 28 straight games with a reception. He caught 3 passes for 30 yards.

And there’s Muhammad, who hauled in his 9th career TD reception with a 12-yarder in the 4th quarter from backup QB Max Johnson.

Was Saturday’s performance indicative of what we can expect for the rest of the season from this group? Fisher said it all depends on matchups.

“There were routes,” he said. “How they matched it up allowed us to do that, but there’s options underneath. And the reads that we would go to, that’s a play that we’ve used a lot. If you got the ability to go deep, but you got underneath options with it, too — that’s the same one we hit deep.

“We hit Evan on the slant a couple times backside, and it came out real good on slants. That was the same play. And we hit Moose one time short on it. We hit — I mean, on that particular play, I believe four out of the five different potential receivers, we hit four of them on the night in different ways that caught the ball on that play.”

But you can rest assured that the Aggies are going to continue to take their shots with Weigman at the controls and a receiving corps that can make plays.

“We’re going to keep taking those shots,” Fisher said. “You got to throw them down there. It’s the only way you can catch him. And our guys made contested catches.”

On Saturday, the Aggies weren’t messing around. They scored a touchdown on their 1st 5 drives of a game for the 1st time since 2017 (also vs. New Mexico). They averaged 8.1 yards per play in the 1st half, facing just 3 3rd downs while piling up 275 total yards.

Weigman, making just his 5th career start, accounted for a career-high 5 of the Aggies’ 6 TD passes on the night. That’s the most in a regulation game since 2013, when a guy named Johnny Manziel tossed 5 against Mississippi State. But perhaps even more impressive is that Weigman has now attempted 154 career passes without throwing an interception.

“Just give it to my playmakers, and they make my life easy out there,” Weigman said.