They were the kings of the corner fade and the resulting, harmless banter to their opposing defensive backs.

Yes, the Aggie receivers wear maroon and white, but they’re looking more and more like the flyers in the garnet and gold… Florida State garnet and gold.

There are no Peter Warricks on this A&M squad yet, but the Aggies are doing their best to close the gap on some of the nation’s premier receiving corps with the most talented set of A&M wideouts in decades.

"It’s got to be the best (A&M has seen)," says senior wideout Chris Cole. "We’ve got a lot of depth at wide receiver, a lot of guys who can go sub 4.3 (in the 40). We have guys who can run, and it will give us a chance to spread the field. Coach (Steve) Kragthorpe has a lot of people to work with, so I know he’s excited."

Indeed, Kragthorpe, A&M’s offensive coordinator and receivers coach, is smiling a lot these days as he contemplates the sudden potency of his receiving corps. The Aggies go six deep, with three receivers in Cole, junior Chris Taylor and sophomore newcomer Bethel Johnson all showing signs of having monster seasons in 1999.

While Cole and Taylor are proven players, with Cole leading the team in receptions last fall with 38, Johnson has been one of the most intriguing stories of the offseason. The Corsicana product sat out last season as a partial academic qualifier, but the layoff did nothing but add to the anticipation for fans and teammates to see this speedster play.

Johnson routinely made the spectacular plays in the spring, catching two touchdowns in one controlled scrimmage. And once his route-running becomes a second thought, Johnson could become one of A&M’s biggest offensive weapons.

"I think Bethel has a chance to be a real good player," Kragthorpe said. "But you’ve got to be careful that you don’t put a lot of pressure on those young guys early because there’s always the transition from playing high school football to college football. And that’s even greater when you play at a place like Texas A&M, No. 1 because of the caliber of competition, and secondly because Texas A&M football draws so much attention."

Johnson has drawn the attention of his teammates, who were often seen chasing him down the sideline or congratulating him after big plays.

"He is extremely fast," said Cole. "He has great separation when the ball is in the air. Once he gets his technique down, he’ll be one of the best."

Although Johnson has not played a down of college football, he has seen the spotlight shift his way. Is it a case of too much hype too early?

"A little bit," Kragthorpe said. "He’s just one of 11 guys. If we don’t protect and we don’t throw, Bethel won’t catch any passes. He’s a different guy than Texas A&M has had before. There are a lot of parts to the equation, and he’s just one part of that equation. But I think he’s made significant progress, and I think he’s got a chance to have a real bright career for us."

With the addition of Johnson to the mix, A&M should be able to line up with three wideouts at times, finally forcing defenses to back out of the box at the line of scrimmage.

Along with Cole, Taylor and Johnson, A&M features reliable senior Leroy Hodge, a gutty Matt Bumgardner and a rapidly-improving redshirt freshman in Dwain Goynes.

While Taylor has emerged into one of A&M’s big-play threats — both as a receiver and kick returner — Hodge and Bumgardner were key players in the Aggies’ stunning victory over Kansas State for the 1998 Big 12 title. In fact, Hodge caught a touchdown pass in the Aggies’ final two games of the season (against K-State and Ohio State), while Bumgardner’s diving 36-yard catch late in the fourth quarter against K-State kept the Aggies’ title hopes alive.

Goynes could be the fastest player on the A&M squad, and the converted La Marque running back even "shocked" his former high school coach, current A&M assistant Alan Weddell, with his progress with catching the ball this spring. Goynes may not see a lot of playing time in ’99 because of the depth at the top of the lineup, but that could be just a year-long problem.

"I think Dwain Goynes made a lot of improvement this spring," Kragthorpe said. "He made some big plays for us. He’s playing with more confidence now and getting a good feel for the position. One of the things I’d like to do this year is get him some repetitions in game situations and look for him to be a marquee player in the year 2000."

Kragthorpe is still holding out hopes to get hard-luck senior Michael Jennings some playing time, while reserve Antoine Gandy has battled injuries for most of his career, and that bug continued this spring. Gandy missed all but a few spring practices because of a hamstring injury and has missed approximately 20 of his possible 30 spring practices since he arrived on campus from Irving High School.

Still, Gandy showed potential in the spring of giving A&M even more depth than it already has.

"Antoine really played well toward the end of spring," Kragthorpe said. "He’s been a little bit like Matt. He’s been snakebit. When he’s been healthy, he’s really performed well for us. He made a lot of big plays for us toward the end of spring practice."

Emerging baseball star Greg Porter was moved to the receiver position from tight end in the spring, and while he has some of the softest hands on the team, he could only practice on a limited basis because of his baseball obligations.

Porter’s biggest intangible, however, is his ability to perform in the clutch as a young athlete. He’s hit game-winners for the Aggies in baseball and became only the 25th player to hit a home run over the "green monster" in straight-away center at Texas’ Disch-Faulk Field.

"The great thing for Greg is he has been in highly-competitive situations as a true freshman," Kragthorpe added, "and he’s responded."

The Aggies, long known for their ability to run the football, will take their shots all over the field in the passing game this fall. There are just too many weapons not to.

In fact, Kragthorpe hinted about the talent of his receiving corps when he gave a glimpse of the Aggies’ offensive philosophy heading into the fall.