Greg McElroy Names Quiet SEC Contender Flying Under the Radar
Greg McElroy Names Quiet SEC Contender Flying Under the Radar originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The win totals for every SEC team have been released, with the Georgia Bulldogs, Alabama Crimson Tide and Texas Longhorns emerging as the favorites to win the conference. All three teams have a predicted win total of 9.5 games for the upcoming season, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
Advertisement
Following them are the LSU Tigers, Ole Miss Rebels and Tennessee Volunteers, with a forecasted total of 8.5 wins each. Notably absent from the top six are the Texas A&M Aggies, who finished with an 8-5 record in the first year under head coach Mike Elko. The Aggies have a win prediction set at 7.5 for the 2025 season.
The 8-5 season represented progress following 7-6 and 5-7 campaigns, which ultimately led to the firing of Jimbo Fisher. Although the improvement was encouraging, it was bittersweet. The Aggies started the season strong with a 7-1 record but stumbled to a 1-4 finish. One of those losses came against Texas in the final game of the season, where the Aggies fell 17-7, despite having a chance to secure a spot in the SEC Championship Game.
Despite the disappointing end to the season, ESPN's Greg McElroy expressed optimism on his radio show, "McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning," stating that there is reason to believe the Aggies could compete for the SEC title in 2025.
Texas A&M Aggies head coach Mike Elko.Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images
"Then finally Texas A&M," McElroy said. "You are going to say, 'C'mon, they are always 8-4, Greg.' Well, I actually think they are one of the few teams, by the way, returning a quarterback this year. There aren't many that are. They are. Marcel Reed is back. Mike Elko's second year. You can expect a possible second-year bump."
Advertisement
McElroy mentioned Texas A&M's returning quarterback, Marcel Reed. After stepping in for starter Connor Weigman, Reed threw for 1,864 yards, 15 touchdowns and six interceptions. He also demonstrated his impressive running ability, rushing for 543 yards and scoring seven touchdowns at an average of 4.7 yards per carry.
McElroy acknowledged that some key players on the defensive line will not be with Texas A&M this season, but he said he still believes they will perform well defensively. The players missing are Shemar Stewart, Shemar Turner, Nic Scourton and Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy. However, McElroy thinks the Aggies have a strong and deep running back room.
He is optimistic about some of the new additions at wide receiver and considers the offensive line to be one of the best in the league. Additionally, he believes the Aggies' schedule is not overly challenging.
McElroy thinks Texas A&M has the potential to be a real sleeper team in 2025, noting that not many people are discussing them. The Aggies will kick off their season against the University of Texas at San Antonio Roadrunners at 7 p.m. ET on Aug. 30.
Related: Paul Finebaum Names Major SEC Team That Had a 'Miserable' End to the Season
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 3, 2025, where it first appeared.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
21 minutes ago
- USA Today
Texas A&M baseball makes first major coaching hire for 2026 season
Texas A&M baseball makes first major coaching hire for 2026 season News: Michael Earley is hiring former Texas A&M shortstop and long-time Major Leaguer Cliff Pennington as an assistant coach. He will oversee the infield defense as well as coach third base on offense. Pennington spent the last 4 seasons as an assistant at Dallas Baptist. — Ryan Brauninger (@R_Brauninger) June 4, 2025 Texas A&M head baseball coach Michael Earley has officially replaced former infield coach Will Fox with a former Aggie star and elite assistant coach from Dallas Baptist. With A&M choosing to retain Coach Earley, all eyes were on what changes would happen, especially within the coaching staff, after a disappointing 2025 baseball season. On Wednesday afternoon, Ryan Brauninger of TexAgs reported that A&M is hiring former Texas A&M All-American shortstop Cliff Pennington. After an excellent career in Aggieland, Pennington spent 11 years in Major League Baseball before joining the A&M coaching staff under Rob Childress in 2019. He later took a position at Dallas Baptist as their recruiting coordinator and assistant coach, where he earned the 2024 Conference USA Assistant Coach of the Year award. This hire is universally seen as an elite move and should help reduce errors. He will oversee the infield defense and serve as the third base coach. It's a great start toward making the necessary changes, and we expect a few more before it's all said and done. Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Jarrett Johnson on X: @whosnextsports1.
Chicago Tribune
an hour ago
- Chicago Tribune
NCAA pushes back on Zakai Zeigler's lawsuit seeking a 5th year of Division I eligibility in 5 years
Attorneys for two-time SEC defensive player of the year Zakai Zeigler accuse the NCAA of trying to dodge facts and law by asking a federal judge to deny the Tennessee point guard's preliminary injunction seeking to play a fifth season in as many years. Zeigler's attorneys compared the NCAA's motion filed Monday to misdirection and said it used 'cherry-picked' or 'fundamentally flawed' data ahead of Friday's hearing on the preliminary injunction request before U.S. District Judge Katherine A. Crytzer in Knoxville. 'Rather than recognize the evolution of antitrust law's application to its business model, the NCAA relies on outdated legal arguments. And rather than address the law as it is, the NCAA mischaracterizes it to defend its illegal actions,' Zeigler's attorneys wrote in a response filed Tuesday. Zeigler sued the NCAA on May 20 over its rules limiting him to four seasons in a five-year window as an unlawful restraint of trade under both federal and Tennessee laws. His lawsuit argues he could earn between $2 million and as much as $4 million with another season. The NCAA argued Monday that Zeigler's injunction request should be denied because he is asking the court to make him the first athlete in history to play a fifth season in Division I 'as a matter of right.' The NCAA also said using the case of Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia doesn't help because that case was 'decided in error.' Pavia, who started his career at a junior college, was granted another year to play a fifth season, a ruling the NCAA is appealing. Zeigler played four seasons at Tennessee and already has graduated. The NCAA's motion said the life of a collegiate athlete is enabled by the Four-Seasons Rule, which creates a stream of opportunities for rising high school athletes. The NCAA argued the Four-Seasons Rule is necessary for DI athletics to exist separately from 'purely professional athletics.' Zeigler is asking the court to eliminate lines between the NCAA's compensation rules subject to the Sherman Act and eligibility rules that don't involve compensation. The NCAA said nothing would stop Zeigler from asking for a sixth or seventh season while pursuing a doctorate degree if he wins. 'College athletics is a means to a better end for student-athletes — not the end itself,' the NCAA motion said. Zeigler also has known since stepping on the Tennessee campus that he had five years to complete four seasons of basketball and could have challenged the Four-Seasons Rule at any time, the NCAA said. 'Whatever emergency underlies Plaintiff's request for relief is of his own making,' the motion said. It noted Zeigler can keep playing basketball with foreign leagues or the NBA's G League since 'if he had a viable path to the NBA, given his resume, he would already be a viable prospect.' The U.S. Department of Justice also filed a brief Tuesday encouraging the judge to apply Alston's 'flexible' rule of reason approach to Zeigler's injunction request and 'consider how the rule may benefit competition in the relevant labor market' and potentially enhance the athlete experience. Alston was the 9-0 Supreme Court case ruling in June 2021 that opened the door for compensation. The high court agreed with a lower court's determination that NCAA limits on education-related benefits that colleges offer athletes who play Division I basketball and football violate antitrust laws.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Texas A&M lands 2026 four-star cornerback out of Arizona
Texas A&M lands 2026 four-star cornerback out of Arizona Summertime for college football is a crucial period for making progress with recruits before they are fully immersed in preparations for the fall. Texas A&M head football coach Mike Elko and his staff have been active on the recruiting trail, working to bring several prospects to Bryan-College Station. On Wednesday afternoon, it was announced that 2026 four-star cornerback Camren Hamiel has committed to Texas A&M. He becomes the 12th commitment in the 2026 class and the second cornerback. This is a significant pickup for the Aggies, who will need depth at the cornerback position with several upperclassmen on the roster. Texas A&M outcompeted top programs like Oregon, Penn State, and Nebraska for Hamiel's commitment, with him stating, "IM HOME" His junior season concluded with an AIA Conference 5A state championship, along with 50 tackles, five tackles for loss, and three interceptions. A top-250 recruit, Hamiel is currently ranked as the 226th prospect in the 2026 class, the 34th-ranked CB, and the No. 2 prospect in Arizona by 247Sports. Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Jarrett Johnson on X: @whosnextsports1.
