Jeremy Tabuyo knew he’d made a pretty special catch when he checked his phone after the game.
“It kept freezing up on me,” Tabuyo said as he tried to read all of the messages.
The Texas A&M senior wide receiver got caught up in the type of social media frenzy that can engulf anyone in this new world of technology.
All it takes is one video to make someone a star or shame them forever.
Tabuyo, a 2013 Saint Louis alumnus, was on the right side of that frenzy on Oct. 1 when video of his one-handed catch against South Carolina was put up instantly by outlets including ESPN.com.
On a third-and-18 play from inside their own 10-yard line, Aggies quarterback Trevor Knight threw a ball down the left sideline that was supposed to be a back-shoulder throw.
Tabuyo, looking back into the sun, went up in the air and had to reach back toward the side of his front shoulder with his left hand to make a one-handed catch.
A hush fell over Williams-Brice Stadium as Tabuyo picked up 29 yards on the play. He knew immediately it was a pretty good catch but wasn’t able to see the replay on the video board inside the stadium.
“I tried to watch it on the big screen after the play, but we were in our hurry-up offense,” Tabuyo said. “We fool around at practice every day and do one-handed catches, and so I was a little surprised (I caught it), but most people don’t know I’m left-handed and that was my dominant hand, so I just focused on the ball and got the yards we needed for a first down.”
Tabuyo hasn’t gotten the opportunities he hoped when he signed with the Aggies in 2013 after his senior season at Saint Louis.
He tore his ACL as a junior but was still offered by Texas A&M that summer. He committed to the Aggies on his birthday — July 24 — and reaffirmed that commitment when he visited during Thanksgiving weekend to take in a Texas A&M home game against Missouri.
Tabuyo has caught only nine balls this season but is averaging more than 20 yards per catch. He’s scored five career touchdowns on 30 receptions for 407 yards.
“I mean, I wish I played a little bit more over the years, but I have nobody else to blame but me,” said Tabuyo, who stands 5 feet 11 and fourth on the team in receiving yards this season. “I can’t point the finger at anyone else but myself because I know the coaches put the best players out there.”
The Aggies started with five consecutive wins for the third straight year and improved to 6-0 with a wild 45-38 double-overtime victory over Tennessee.
They had two weeks to prepare for last Saturday’s game at No. 1 Alabama and took a 14-13 lead early in the third quarter. The No. 1-ranked Crimson Tide stiffened up from there and scored 20 unanswered points to hand Texas A&M its first loss, 33-14.
In each of the past two seasons, the Aggies lost three out of four games once they suffered their first defeat, but Tabuyo expects this year to be different.
“The chemistry we have on this team is so much better,” Tabuyo said. “There aren’t any individuals out here. You can tell when we’re behind (in a game), we’re past the point of finger pointing. This year, with Trevor (Knight) being a coach on the field and making sure everyone keeps their composure, we bring each other’s spirits back up and flush it down the toilet when we’re behind.”
The Aggies finish the season with nonconference games against New Mexico State and Texas-San Antonio and SEC games at Mississippi State and home against Ole Miss before closing out with LSU at Kyle Field.
Tabuyo says the Aggies’ homefield advantage has improved since his first season in 2013.
“We didn’t have 100,000 fans just yet, but on gameday the whole team just shuts down and it’s all about football,” Tabuyo said. “People try to get their tailgating spots for a Saturday game on Wednesday and then sleep over the next three nights.
“We’ve played a game in front of 104,000 now, I think, and there’s just nothing like it. There’s nothing quite like SEC football.”
