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Texas A&M Aggies Focused on Fixing Defensive Struggles

The Texas A&M Aggies' defense struggled down the stretch.

Jon Alfano

Nov 2, 2024; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; Texas A&M Aggies head coach Mike Elko directs his team against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the second quarter at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-Imagn Images
Nov 2, 2024; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; Texas A&M Aggies head coach Mike Elko directs his team against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the second quarter at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-Imagn Images / Jeff Blake-Imagn Images
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The Texas A&M Aggies have a lot to work on as they go through spring practices, but one area stands out above all else.

That would be the pass defense, to no surprise. A&M allowed 232.2 passing yards per game last season, ranking 90th out of 133 FBS teams. The Aggies' struggles against the pass were on full display when they allowed USC's Jayden Maiava to throw for 295 yards and four touchdowns on them in a 35-31 loss in the Las Vegas Bowl.

After that game, Aggies head coach Mike Elko didn't hold back on the state of the pass defense.

"The story of the game is the story of our season," Elko said. "We can't cover the forward pass well enough to be a good football team. That is my fault."

Texas A&M Aggies head coach Mike Elko
Dec 27, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Texas A&M Aggies head coach Mike Elko reacts against the Southern California Trojans in the first half at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Understandably, Elko and the Aggies are placing a great deal of emphasis on fixing the pass defense this spring. Though it's still very early, he seems pleased with how that effort is going so far.

"I think it's just making sure that we clean up expectations, clean up the way we're teaching, clean up the way that they're learning and understanding and processing, make sure you kind of identify, 'Okay, what do we need to do to get this better?' That has been good," Elko said Wednesday. "We spent a lot of time in walkthroughs through February, making sure we understood spatially what we were trying to get accomplished, where we were trying to go with it. We continue to do walkthroughs through spring ball. That's just our regular rhythm.

"I think, listen, and I said this at the last press conference, there's not a single person in our building that's excited with the way the defense played down the stretch. That's not just me. I'm not the only person. I think our players have a lot of pride in making sure it gets back to where it was."

The Aggies' pass defense only seemed to regress as the season went on, and it showed on the scoreboard. They allowed 24 or fewer points in each of their first eight games, but allowed 35 or more points in three of their final five games, all of which they lost.

Elko is very much a defensive-minded coach, so seeing the defense struggle down the stretch was clearly tough on him. It's a new year, though, and he knows the team can right the ship with the right coaching.

"I think our coaches have a lot of pride in making sure it gets back to where it was. Through eight games, we were in a really good place, and we just didn't finish the way we wanted to defensively. It's an emphasis. It's a focus. I think we're meeting it head on." 

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Jon Alfano
JON ALFANO

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