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Although things opened poorly—and ended worse—for Mike Elko during his inaugural year in College Station, Texas, it was still easy enough to label the 2024 season a success at Texas A&M, given how relatively drama-free the program became compared to some of its peers.
Perhaps that’s just the result of low expectations after the departure of Jimbo Fisher, who was paid to go away unlike any other head coach in the annals of college football history. But after suffering a loss to Notre Dame in August, the Aggies seemed to buy into what Elko was selling.
They won seven in a row at one point, nearly made the SEC championship game, and for all of Elko’s prowess as a defensive-minded head coach, actually led the SEC in scoring.
Now comes the season in which the coach and the program at large, can try to use that as a stepping stone to where they’ve always strived to get.
“I think when I got hired, we talked an awful lot about building a program that would help our young people develop into the best version of who they are both on and off the field. I think people sometimes get so lost in the X’s and O’s and the play-calling that they lose sight of what that culture can really do to impact and affect our program,” Elko said. “I think as we continued into this offseason, the challenge for us has been to elevate that culture to a championship-level culture, so that we are acting in our lives every step along the way as champions.”
The tough part is that going from good to great is, well, tough. Over a dozen starters return on both sides of the ball, but A&M has to get better defensively. They have to hope that quarterback Marcel Reed makes a redshirt sophomore leap and not a slump. Most of all, they need to turn that blue-collar attitude into a few more wins after letting far too many second-half leads slip.
Everything remains available to the Aggies, but whether they can take advantage of all their resources and talent to have the kind of season their fan base craves remains an open question.
Fast Facts
2024 record: 8–5, 5–3 SEC
Offense: 30.4 ppg (49th in FBS), 5.95 yards per play (55th)
Defense: 22.2 ppg (34th in FBS), 5.49 yards per play (62nd)
On the Headset
Mike Elko, entering Year 2 in College Station (fourth as a head coach), 24–14 overall record, 8–5 with the Aggies
Elko slowly worked his way up the coaching ladder and has assembled some of the best defenses in the country for much of the past decade. He’s straightforward and no-nonsense, with the New Jersey native fitting into A&M’s unique culture surprisingly well, even beyond the fact that he’s a former assistant.
He did an impressive job at Duke as a first-time head coach, including winning nine games in Durham, N.C., right away. He is pushing the exact buttons he needs to ensure incremental improvement for the Aggies is not something taken for granted at a place that does not lack for much of anything.
“I said this to a lot of people when I got hired, this offseason, it’s going to be our commitment to doing [development] every day that is ultimately going to get Texas A&M football where it wants to be,” Elko said. “We are trying to speed that process up as much as we possibly can, but we’ve laid a really strong foundation for who we are as a program, who we want to be, and where we want this thing to be going forward.”
Key Returning Starter
QB Marcel Reed, RS So.
Despite plenty of productivity out of the Aggies’ offense last season under offensive coordinator Collin Klein, the difference between the Aggies floating in that seven-to-nine-win territory and really challenging for a conference title berth lies in the hands of Reed. His passing numbers were modest last season in taking into account a few injuries (15 TD, 6 INT, 61.3% completion), but there was little questioning how dynamic he was with the ball in his hands as a true dual threat in an extremely tough conference. If he builds upon what he showcased in 2024 behind one of the best lines in the league, things could get really interesting in College Station, Texas.
“He’s had a phenomenal offseason. I think he’s put on some necessary strength and mass to kind of hold to the rigors of SEC football,” Elko said. “I think he understands now what it takes to be an SEC quarterback week in and week out. Really excited for him to go out and become the difference-maker that we know he’s capable of being this year.”
Key Transfer
WR KC Concepcion, from NC State
A former ACC Rookie of the Year and freshman All-American, the Wolfpack were heartbroken to lose Concepcion, given what he brings to the table as a speed option that can really break open a game. Last season wasn’t quite as strong as his first, but he should be option No. 1 in the passing game alongside several other transfers like Terry Bussey and Nate Boerkircher.
Key Departure
DL Nic Scourton, second-round NFL draft pick to the Carolina Panthers
Shemar Stewart was Texas A&M’s first-rounder this spring, but Scourton was probably the most consistent defender they’ll miss coming into this season. The front four is pretty much a big question mark without the latter’s leadership and toughness being something you could rely upon.
Circle the Dates
- Sept. 13, at Notre Dame
- Oct. 11, vs. Florida
- Oct. 25, at LSU
- Nov. 29, at Texas
Bottom Line
Texas A&M returns the bulk of a team that was still alive to win the SEC going into the final weekend of the regular season. They surely experienced plenty of bumps in their first year under Elko, but also have a lot of key starters back and a schedule that’s manageable by league standards without either Georgia or Alabama. Progress is always hard to discern in Aggieland, but there’s a good chance for improvement in 2025.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Sports Illustrated’s College Football Preseason Top 25: No. 17 Texas A&M.