The Citadel · W 41-0 · FCS
No catches.
Craver has catches in 7 of Texas A&M’s 8 games: none against The Citadel.
Dashed line: 100 yards.
4 stories in the last 30 days, from 4 outlets.
Texas A&M provides final updates for Anto Saka, Mario Craver
Saturday Down South Oct 24
As of
Craver's 2025 was a deep-ball highlight reel — 59 catches for 917 yards, a 207-yard explosion against Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff, and a yards-per-route mark (3.25) that ranked third in the entire Power Four. At 5-9, 165, he wins the way small receivers have to: with separation speed and after-the-catch wiggle (22 forced missed tackles).
Texas A&M made him the highest-paid receiver in program history to keep him. The forward stakes are a featured role in a passing game expected to throw more in 2026 — the runway for a burner like this to go from very good to the SEC's most dangerous deep threat. For Craver, the size was always the doubt and the speed was always the answer; 2026 is where he settles it. In Texas A&M's 31-21 home loss to Kentucky, Craver caught 11 passes for 119 yards.
Sources
Play style
Craver is pure juice — a vertical and after-the-catch weapon whose tape and our data agree. The play-by-play is loud: a 94th-percentile yards-per-catch, a 93rd-percentile explosive-catch rate, and a 88th-percentile EPA per target — the chunk-play profile of a true field-stretcher, backed by a solid (65th-percentile) catch rate that says he's more than a track guy running fly routes. The 22 forced missed tackles are the YAC element: catch a five-yard slant, make the first man miss, and it's a 40-yard touchdown. At his size he's not a contested-catch or red-zone bully — he's the speed that bends a defense's whole structure, the receiver a safety has to honor on every snap. Give him a step, and the game changes.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Share of the team's total this season.
Seen from behind the quarterback; numbers are yards past the line of scrimmage. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed. Of his catches with a spot in the play text: left 3, middle 3, right 14.
from 4 outlets
Texas A&M provides final updates for Anto Saka, Mario Craver
Saturday Down South Oct 24 · 1 outlet
from 14 outlets
Texas A&M provides final updates for Anto Saka, Mario Craver
Saturday Down South Oct 24 · 1 outlet
247SportsTexas A&M football: Aggies' QB Marcel Reed and WR Mario Craver named to Maxwell Award watchlistAug 3
On3Texas A&M QB Marcel Reed, WR Mario Craver land on 2026 Maxwell Award preseason watch listAug 3On3Texas A&M QB Marcel Reed, WR Mario Craver land on Walter Camp Player of the Year Preseason Watch ListAug 17On3Texas A&M receiver Mario Craver makes 2026 Biletnikoff Award preseason watch listAug 19
KBTX News 3Texas A&M’s Mario Craver named to Biletnikoff Award watch listAug 19
Bryan College Station EagleMario Craver: Missouri State Week Press ConferenceSep 1
Texas A&M AggiesTuesday Interviews: Mario Craver, Marcus Ratcliffe - Texas A&M Aggies - Official Athletics WebsiteSep 1
Yahoo SportsMario Craver Shares the Mindset Driving Texas A&M Ahead of 2026 SeasonSep 3Saturday Down South
BroBible
Sports IllustratedSports IllustratedTexas A&M AggiesYahoo SportsOn3247SportsEach week: his team’s game, the stories about him that week, and the week’s biggest news headline.
Stories we tracked, by school.
Texas A&M36 stories2025 to nowMost about: awards and watch lists, profile and feature, in his words.
Locked OnMario Craver primed for monster Game Against Former TeamOct 2Locked OnNick Saban Makes wild accusations Against Texas A&MDec 18Reported by Locked OnLocked OnCan Mario Craver lead SEC In Receiving? Texas A&M Aggies Eye Huge 2026 impactMar 31Sports IllustratedMario Craver Tabbed as Preseason All-American, 6 Aggies Named All-SECJun 12
All Access FootballScouting Report: Mario Craver, WR, Texas A&MJun 15
Mississippi State2024not trackedStories are headlines grouped by what they are about, counted through Nov 4.
Fans first named Mario Craver vs Missouri State.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Texas A&M | 30 | 286 | 9.5 | 3 | 33 |
| 2025 | Texas A&M | 58 | 911 | 15.7 | 4 | 86 |
| 2024 | Mississippi State | 17 | 368 | 21.6 | 3 | 72 |
| Career | 105 | 1,565 | 14.9 | 10 | 86 |
| Season | Team | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Texas A&M | 3 | 16 | 27 | -- |
| 2025 | Texas A&M | 11 | 81 | -- | -- |
| 2024 | Mississippi State | 3 | 7 | -- | 1 |
| Career | 17 | 104 | 27 | 1 |
Last game (Wk 8): 45 receiving yards, 6 catches, 1 receiving TD.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 7 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 50-0vs Missouri State | 5 | 41 | 8.2 | 1 | 12 | |
| Wk 2 | W 48-20vs Arizona State | 3 | 34 | 11.3 | 1 | 33 | |
| Wk 3 | L 21-31vs Kentucky | 11 | 119 | 10.8 | 0 | 21 | Season-high 119 yds |
| Wk 4 | L 6-35@ No. 10 LSU | 3 | 31 | 10.3 | 0 | 16 | |
| Wk 5 | W 34-7vs Arkansas | 1 | 10 | 10.0 | 0 | 10 | |
| Wk 6 | L 6-27@ No. 14 Missouri | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | 0 | 6 | |
| Wk 8 | L 20-31@ No. 13 Alabama | 6 | 45 | 7.5 | 1 | 14 | |
| Total | 30 | 286 | 9.5 | 3 | 33 |
Oct. 24 · L 20-31 at Alabama
6 catches for 45 yards and a touchdown.
1 catch for 6 yards. Texas A&M threw to him on 6 of its 39 passes. Texas A&M’s last two throws to him, down 27-6 in the fourth quarter, fell incomplete.
Incomplete on 3rd and 7. Second quarter, down 10-3. Fans named him again and again right after: the most-talked-about moment of his game.
“How does Craver not catch that ball?”Texas A&M fan, r/CFB game thread
6-yard catch. Third quarter, down 13-3.
Seen from behind the quarterback; numbers are yards past the line of scrimmage. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
1 catch for 10 yards. Texas A&M threw to him on 1 of its 19 passes. All of it came before halftime of a 34-7 win.
10-yard catch. First quarter, up 7-0.
Seen from behind the quarterback; numbers are yards past the line of scrimmage. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
3 catches for 31 yards. Texas A&M threw to him on 6 of its 26 passes. 31 of the 31 came before halftime.
Incomplete on 3rd and 7. First quarter, tied 0-0.
16-yard catch on 3rd and 14. First quarter, down 7-0. Converted. Fans named him again and again right after: the most-talked-about moment of his game.
“Craver looks like one of the few on the team that's on track to play in the NFL”Texas A&M fan, r/CFB game thread
Incomplete on 2nd and 6. Second quarter, down 7-0. Fans named him again and again right after.
“If craver is out it's more hegsethover than ever before”Texas A&M fan, r/CFB game thread
Seen from behind the quarterback; numbers are yards past the line of scrimmage. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
A big game: 11 catches for 119 yards, his most this season. Texas A&M threw to him on 19 of its 49 passes. Texas A&M’s last four throws to him, down 31-21 in the fourth quarter, fell incomplete, the last on 4th and 14.
21-yard catch. First quarter, tied 0-0.
8-yard catch on 3rd and 9. First quarter, tied 0-0. Fans named him again and again right after: the most-talked-about moment of his game.
“We are cursed. Bethel-Roman out. Bussey carted off. Craver hurt.”Texas A&M fan, r/CFB game thread
13-yard catch on 3rd and 5. Second quarter, tied 0-0. Converted.
3-yard catch on 3rd and 2. Second quarter, tied 0-0. Converted.
Seen from behind the quarterback; numbers are yards past the line of scrimmage. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
3 catches for 34 yards and a touchdown.
Not drawn: the play-by-play has 3 catches for 44 yards, the box score 3 for 34, so no play is placed until they agree.
5 catches for 41 yards and a touchdown. Texas A&M threw to him on 6 of its 37 passes.
12-yard touchdown. Second quarter, made it 19-0.
Seen from behind the quarterback; numbers are yards past the line of scrimmage. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
Week 3 · 2026
L 21-31
vs Kentucky
The plays that mattered most
271st in receiving yards, among all 2,086 FBS players with a receiving row this season, any position
Ratings of the games shown run from -17 to +25 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Receiver profile · Targets, catch rate, and throw depth
How often he's targeted, and how well it works
Targets
5022% of team targetsCatch rate
60%30 of 50 targetsBehind LOS · Negative air yds
Short · 0–9 air yds
Middle · 10–19 air yds
Deep · 20+ air yds
60% catch rate on 50 targets · 22% of the team's targets · 43% catch rate on 7 deep targets (20+ air yds).
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 7 games
Home vs Road
| REC/g | YDS/g | YPR | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 5.0 | 51.0 | 10.1 | 0.5 |
| Road3g | 3.3 | 27.3 | 7.9 | 0.3 |
First half vs Second half
| REC/g | YDS/g | YPR | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 4.0 | 40.2 | 9.4 | 0.3 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 6.0 | 45.0 | 7.5 | 1.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Mike Elko
Pass share
44.8%
243 pass / 299 run
Plays / game
67.8
8 games
Team sack rate
5.1%
277 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2025
Picked for an all-conference team by at least one selector.
Recognition
2026 outlook
In the mix to repeat All-SEC
Based on 2025: #8 of 58 SEC WRs
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 35% of returning players who ranked #4–10 at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 31–38%).
2026 is in progress.
A blue-chip recruit with honors.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-SEC
All-SEC mention (2025)
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
2 coachesPlayed for 2 head coaches at 2 schools: Jeff Lebby and Mike Elko.
