'We're Beyond That': As Aggies Prepare For Redemption Season, Mike Elko Urges Focus to Remain Present

The Texas A&M Aggies will look plenty different next season under new leadership, but when it comes to comparisons between his current squad and last year's, first-year coach Mike Elko wants it to stop.

Jul 18, 2024; Dallas, TX, USA; Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko speaking at Omni Dallas Hotel. / Brett Patzke-USA TODAY Sports

Before stepping away from the podium to conclude his press conference following the first week of training camp for the Texas A&M Aggies, first-year head coach Mike Elko made a request.

It was simple, yet stern. Over the course of the offseason, every chance they were given, the media focused their questions on Jimbo Fisher's final season. On the train wreck that Elko was set to step into.

The Aggies had the resources, the recruiting and the talent, yet for some reason, they just continued to fall short of their end goal. Naturally, the biggest question was how the first-year head coach planned to change that. He obliged, for a time.

Now, he wants the attention to shift away from the past.

"As we get our guys up and they come up to talk to you, if we could stop trying to reference last year, I think that would be great," Elko said. "I think we're nine months removed now. I feel like every kid that comes in front of you gets four questions trying to compare this year to last year. Let's just not do that. I think we're way past that.

"I think we're beyond that."

Nov 25, 2023; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; Texas A&M Aggies interim head coach Elijah Robinson looks on against the LSU Tigers during the second half at Tiger Stadium. / Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

Counting interim head coach Elijah Robinson, who eventually turned down a role as the defensive coordinator to move to Syracuse, Elko is the third coach to lead the Aggies since Kevin Sumlin departed in 2017.

The history is clear. Texas A&M, in six seasons, has won just three bowl games in four appearances. Half the time, it was left out of the final top-25 rankings and besides the Orange Bowl victory that all but proved the snub it endured in 2020 from the College Football Playoff, there isn't much to show for it.

Elko knows that. But he also knows it does no good to look at those numbers. Instead, he's focused on an internal approach that's allowed players to form closer bonds off the field.

"It goes back to how you go through your offseason," he explained. "I think you have to be much more intentional nowadays about how you bring people together within your program. ... (you have to) understand that you have a lot of people in that locker room that have never played together."

That was part of the plan for training camp. Beyond getting guys back on the field — including a healthy Conner Weigman — the Aggies made sure to focus on building camaraderie with one another.

That way when opening night comes around against a "faceless opponent," they'd be ready.

"It's nice to get out on the grass," Elko said. "We're in a really good place as a program, and that's always fun. When the kids are excited, when they have good energy when you can see them coming together, when you're in that place, it's a really cool place to be, and you don't get to live there forever.

"You've got to form that before we run out of the tunnel for the first time." 

Jul 18, 2024; Dallas, TX, USA; Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko speaking at Omni Dallas Hotel. / Brett Patzke-USA TODAY Sports

Safe to say, Elko's approach has already done wonders for the culture that almost every single player made available this offseason has raved about.

The new coach brought with him a clear sense of leadership, and that was easy to buy into for returning players perhaps wondering themselves what would change with him leading the charge.

"If you are a guy that loves the sport of football, you love being coached hard," Aggies defensive lineman Shemar Turner explained of Elko's coaching style. "It doesn't matter what it is. It can be on and off the field."

The change is palpable, but even then, Elko doesn't want any of next season's success to be paired with the shortcomings of last year. He requests the focus remain in the present, not the past.

As for his players? They don't have to be told twice.

They're already there.

"The sky is our limit this season," Texas A&M offensive lineman and captain, Trey Zuhn III, said. "We've had some disappointing years in the past, and we just use that as fuel. It makes us work harder every single day. I can't wait for this season.

"We're going to show people who we are."