COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Texas A&M coach Mike Elko’s biography doesn’t quite fit the typical CV of a high-powered SEC coach. Elko grew up in a working-class family in South Brunswick, New Jersey. He played in the Ivy League at Penn and first coordinated a defense at the Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York.
And yet, only eight games into his return to College Station in the head coach’s chair, he is already making a mark. After shocking No. 8 LSU on Saturday, Texas A&M is now off to its first 5-0 start in conference play since 1998 as members of the Big 12, which was also the last time the Aggies won a conference championship. The program is back in the AP Top 10 for the first time since losing to Appalachian State in 2022. The Aggies are currently getting the third-best betting odds to win the SEC at +350, according to DrafKings Sportsbook. Only Texas and Georgia (both +200) are higher, according to the sports betting app.
Where Elko goes, success almost always follows. It took only one year for Elko to flip Duke from 3-9 to nine wins, the program’s highest win total in eight years. Now at Texas A&M, Elko is once again producing immediate results.
“This is a real program,” Elko said. “It’s not a politician running this program, talking fast and BS-ing everybody. This is a real program. And for all the recruits out there, this is a real place. If you want to be really good at football, it’s a really good place to be.”
Elko clarified on Monday that he was not referring to former Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher, the fastest-talking coach in the industry, but it’s hard not to make connections. Elko came to Texas A&M at the behest of Fisher, joining his initial staff as a defensive coordinator in 2018. After four years, he earned the head coaching job at Duke and left the program. Texas A&M went 34-14 with Elko and Fisher both on campus. After trading Elko for D.J. Durkin, the Aggies went 11-11 before opting to pay out the biggest buyout in college sports history to get Fisher out of town.
By all accounts, Elko has a good relationship with Fisher, but his desire to move on from the previous era is obvious. Earlier this year, he asked if the local press could stop asking so many questions about the last era. He answered plenty and it was time to move on. But being around the program, it’s obvious how much things have changed.
Elko remains the perfect blend of blue collar upbringing and Ivy League intellectualism that perfectly fits the historic agricultural school at Texas A&M. This is the home of the Wreckin’ Crew defense and eight Nobel Prize laureates on faculty. It fits Elko to a tee.
“He’s a no-tolerance type of coach,” defensive back BJ Mayes said. “When he walks into the room, everybody sits up and locks in on Elko, it’s that feeling. I’ve been around a lot of different programs and I haven’t played with a coach who knows as much ball as him.”
Elko had some advantages walking into Texas A&M’s locker room as a head coach. A former defensive coordinator at the school through the 2021 season, he recruited several key defenders to the program. For every introduction he made in December, he also got some slaps on the back and players welcoming him home.
But let’s be clear, this team is talented, but not the embarrassment of riches from previous years. The Aggies lost 31 players to the transfer portal, headlined by receiver Evan Stewart (Oregon), defensive lineman LT Overton (Alabama) and defensive tackle Walter Nolen (Ole Miss). Nineteen of them immediately popped up at other power conference schools.
Remember the historic No. 1 recruiting class in 2022? Fourteen of the 30 signees have left the program. Texas A&M dropped from No. 4 to 10 in the 247Sports Team Talent Composite from 2023 to 2024.
Look at the top performers during the historic win over LSU and it’s a hodgepodge of old and new. Edge rusher Nic Scourton and Mayes are transfers. Wide receiver Noah Thomas and running back Le’Veon Moss are home grown. Left tackle Trey Zuhn was here. Linebacker Scooby Williams is new. It doesn’t matter, though. All are bought in.
“We had a lot of people that came in the portal on the defensive side who didn’t know what their chances were going to be to play because we’ve got a lot of talented players who can be on the field,” quarterback Marcel Reed said. “They don’t know if they’re going to play. Whoever’s called is going to be ready to go.”
With his old school expectations, Elko mixes in real connection with players. Against LSU, Texas A&M deployed its first “blackout” game since 2015. Fisher was disinterested in such gimmicks. Elko also brought back “Power” as the team’s entrance song. As long as the bells and whistles don’t distract from the actual work, who cares?
“I think it’s just genuine honesty they appreciate,” Elko said. “I think we’ve been very upfront with them, you know? I’m a guy who leads from the front line. I’m around them all the time. I’m not one of those guys who’s a hugger, but I’m with them all the time. I think they appreciate that messaging and how real it is.”
And just in case there was any concern, Elko is still recruiting his butt off. The Aggies boast the No. 7 recruiting class in the country, headlined by five-star quarterback Husan Longstreet.
Heading into the home stretch, Texas A&M has a chance to put together one of the greatest seasons in school history. The Aggies have an inside track to the College Football Playoff and will be favored in at least three of their final four games, with a matchup against No. 6 Texas on the horizon at Kyle Field. The Aggies have not won 10 games since 2012. That’s nearly a certainty.
But for Elko, there won’t be too many hype videos or swagcopters after this game. It’s just back to business. Look back to the storied history of coaches like R.C. Slocum and Bear Bryant — that’s how Texas A&M does best.
“My mind went straight to South Carolina when the game ended and all the things we’ve got to fix if we want to take this thing where we want to go,” Elko said. “I think we have an amazing opportunity right now that we really want to take advantage of, and we’ve still got a lot of work to do.”
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