They need keep Manziel away from the Aggies. He brought that bad juju from Vandy to the Aggies.
Photo by Will Huffman, TexAgs
Each Monday during the 2025 Texas A&M football season, we’ll identify a first or second-year Aggie player who delivered an exceptional performance over the weekend and earned the distinction of being the week’s “Overnight Sensation.”
Down 27 at halftime, most thought it would take near perfection from the Aggies to overcome such a steep deficit vs. South Carolina.
Ironically, belief seeped back into the likes of Kyle Field on an imperfect play.
Ashton Bethel-Roman’s career-high day helped lift No. 3 Texas A&M to victory, recording 139 yards and a touchdown with a 76-yard catch.
The biggest play didn’t come from the call sheet. It wasn’t even drawn up.
“I wasn't supposed to run that route, but it didn't matter because we got the job done.”
Trailing 30-17 and looking to keep the chains moving to cut down the deficit, Marcel Reed delivered a dart to the left side of the field, where Bethel-Roman and KC Concepcion stood less than five yards from each other.
Bethel-Roman snuck in front of Concepcion and caught a short pass that appeared to be going to the junior wideout. The speedster then turned upfield, gaining 60 yards after the catch.
“I wasn't supposed to run that route, but it didn't matter because we got the job done,” Bethel-Roman said.
“He just got jammed at the line and ended up in the position that KC (Concepcion) was running into it,” Reed said. “I guess it ended up being good because his defender kind of ran into KC as KC's defender was going that way too. So he caught the ball and ran it up the field.”
The redshirt freshman’s catch set up a touchdown pass the very next play as Reed found Nate Boerkircher in the end zone.
“I caught the ball, and I was running, and I would call myself a pretty fast guy,” Bethel-Roman said. “But the last guy dove for me. He missed, but the way I stumbled after that messed my ankle up a little bit. But I'll be fine.”
The drive before his career-high grab, Bethel-Roman scored one of A&M’s four second-half touchdowns.
A 39-yard, full-extension snag continued what was a successful third quarter as the Aggies went on to score 21 in the frame.
Bethel-Roman had a drop just two plays prior, but again, perfection wasn’t required. Belief was.
“It felt good knowing that I could shake back, especially so fast, shake back for the team,” Bethel-Roman said. “Because some of the drops, they shouldn't have been drops. It was like mental errors.”
In A&M’s last four wins, the second-year Aggie is averaging 26.8 yards per catch and has come up big in multiple occasions.
Whether it's a game-opening touchdown in CoMo, a one-handed snag in Baton Rouge or hitting the jets in Kyle Field, Bethel-Roman has helped A&M remain in pursuit of perfection.
Bethel-Roman's stats vs. South Carolina
Receptions: 4
Targets: 8
Yards: 139
Touchdowns: 1
Average yards per catch: 34.8
Bethel-Roman’s 2025 stats
Receptions: 16
Targets: 31
Yards: 381
Touchdowns: 3
Average yards per catch: 23.8
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