'We have to finish' Texas A&M HC Mike Elko speaks during Austin Coach's night

USA Today

6 days ago

'We have to finish' Texas A&M HC Mike Elko speaks during Austin Coach's night
It's officially "talk'n season" ahead of the 2025 college football season, and Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko has been making the rounds, starting with the Brazos Country Coach's night last week, followed by the SEC Spring Meetings on Thursday, while Wednesday night's Austin Coach's night saw the second-year head coach sounding as confident in his 2025 roster as you'll likely hear all offseason.
Ever since the Aggies' game-losing drive against USC in the Las Vegas Bowl, Elko has made significant changes to the coaching staff and 2025 roster, starting with hiring James Madison defensive coordinator Lyle Hemphill to the defensive staff to fix the remaining issue in the secondary, which will (hopefully) prevent the blown coverage's that cost the Aggie's several games last season.
From starting quarterback Marcel Reed's improvement to edge rusher Cashius Howell's likely breakout season, Elko provided several player updates that will both excite and, yes, shock the Aggie fan base as the countdown to the 2025 campaign continues.
Talking for over an hour in front of Texas A&M donors and media members, here is every key detail Mike Elko provided on Wednesday night.
Mike Elko on Texas A&M's bright future
"We you look at some of the things in and around the program and some of the indicators of where the program is going, we're very proud of the foundation we have laid."
Elko on the fan buy-in during his first season at the helm
"For the second straight year, we had 100 percent attendance in the Big Event in College Station. We've been way more active in the community service aspect of our program."
"We've been able to reconnect with our community so that our kids are not just viewed as athletes, but they're also viewed as Aggies."
Elko on hosting several big name 2026 prospects in June
"We've got a big month coming up in June. For those of you who still follow recruiting, it looks to be a big 2026 class. We'll have about 50 kids on campus in the next week and a half."
Elko on Texas A&M's entire offensive line returning next season
"Any time you're building a team and talking about possible success, when you bring back your top six starting offensive linemen, that's a really strong starting point."
Elko on Texas A&M's deep running back room with the return of senior Le'Veon Moss
"We bring back every running back that carried the football for us last year."
"Watching Le'Veon Moss work this offseason and the commitment he has shown to getting back on the field has been nothing short of amazing. … We expect to have him fully ready by the start of training camp."
Elko on Texas A&M's deep and improved wide receiver corps
"It's a revamped group. It was an area where we had to figure out how to get playmakers to be honest, and we had to go to the transfer portal to find them."
"We're really happy with our young group. Our young group took a really, really big step forward."
Elko's sounds confident that the 2025 tight end has more juice
"The tight end room, we felt we had to get a little more stout, a little more physical."
Elko on QB Marcel Reed's mental advantage after taking over as the starter last season
We're excited about Marcel (Reed). He got thrust into some situations last year that he wasn't maybe ready for, and you saw him take really big steps forward."
Elko on QB Marcel Reed's improvement this offseason
"He's an electric playmaker. He has really, really quick-twitch athleticism, and he's taking some major strides in his ability to deliver the football."
Elko on backup QB Miles O'Neill's future with the program
Miles O'Neill is a really young quarterback in our program that I think is going to be really, really good."
"He brings some different ability in the throw game and his ability to push the ball downfield … We're excited about him and his development."
Elko on Texas A&M's secondary, highlighting the return of senior CB Tyreek Chappell
"We brought back every kid that played in the backend of our secondary last year…or kids that should have played."
"Tyreek Chappell was probably our best DB last year, and losing him early was a big loss… He'll be back (this year)."
Elko reveals that Texas A&M LB Scooby Williams played through a torn meniscus throughout the season
"One of the things that we didn't tell anybody about Scooby (Williams) because you can't tell this story is that on the first drive of the Notre Dame game, he tore his meniscus."
"Him and Taurean (York) make a really strong pair."
Elko's confident senior Edge Cashius Howell is set to break out in 2025
"Cashius Howell coming back was really, really big. I don't think people understand how high of an NFL Draft prospect he really is."
"I think he has unbelievable potential to have a really strong year."
Like Cashius Howell, junior Edge Rylan Kennedy is poised to become reliable pass rusher
"Rylan Kennedy showed out last year and made a lot of plays, and for anybody who paid attention to the spring game, Marco Jones might have had one of the best freshman spring games out of anybody we've ever had."
Elko on Texas A&M's "experienced" offensive and defensive line
"We have an older, experienced group, and we have that on both sides of the line."
"We're excited about where we're going. We're excited about the direction we're heading."
Elko on the Texas A&M's culture, and the resilence and passion seen throughout the roster
"We're here to build a championship program. It starts with laying the foundation and building the culture."
"This program is resilient. These kids are resilient. They believe in this program, and they believe in where we're going."
Elko on Texas A&M's veteran specialist group, led by senior kicker Randy Bond
"They're all back. One of the things as a head coach is that when the specialists go to the back of your mind, it's a good place to be because you don't worry about them."
"Every kid who kicked the ball or snapped the ball on special teams last year returns. That group is in really good shape."
Elko on calling a majority of the defensive plays in 2025
"I tried to go up into the press box, but they wouldn't let me."
"I've called plays from the sideline at different times in my career. I've done it as a head coach. … It's not something that's new or that I'm worried about. It'll be a collaborative effort."
Elko on his his roster has handled NIL opportunities
"Given the rules and circumstances, our kids do a really good job of handling NIL."
"We don't have a lot of horror stories. … We don't have kids demanding this or demanding that. … I credit our kids for handling the situation really well. Kids these days get a really bad rap for a situation that adults have handled really poorly."
Elko on keeping the same coaching staff heading into Year 2
"When you have consistency of staff, you have consistency of messaging. That's really important for young people."
"I'm thankful for the staff we have because we have a phenomenal staff."
Texas A&M's offense line will likely determine the Aggies' success in 2025
"We're really excited about the offensive line. When I stood on this podium last year, that was question mark No. 1."
"You've established that offensive line group, who those guys are and what they're all about."
Elko ended the night with a quote that will define the Aggies through every win and loss in 2025
"We did move forward in our win total from where we were last year. I know that's now our expectation and what's acceptable, but we are moving forward."
"We learned valuable lessons down the stretch last year. I did. Our team did. Our staff did. … We'll be confident when the season starts. We'll be confident through every win. We'll be confident through every lost. We'll be confident throughout the entire season until they tell us we can't play anymore."
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