Jaylen Henderson on national championship outcome: 'I'm just happy Texas didn't get there and win'

As Texas heads into the SEC in 2024, their longtime rival Texas A&M is ready to resume playing football — and other sports — on a regular basis. And Aggies quarterback Jaylen Henderson is already starting the trash talk.

Joining TexAgs Radio this week, Henderson, who was recruited by now-Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer to Fresno State years ago, shared his impression of DeBoer. And when discussing his run with Washington, Henderson made one thing clear: He’s glad Texas didn’t win in the College Football Playoff.

“It didn’t really matter to me. I’m just happy Texas didn’t get there and win,” Henderson said about the Michigan-Washington national championship matchup.

He also heaped praise on DeBoer and the work he does as a coach.

“He’s a good coach. He lets his staff do a good job coaching the players. And I’m just lucky he brought me in to Fresno, he recruited me there. So I’ve got nothing but good things to say about him and his family,” Henderson said.

It’s a new era at Texas A&M

Mike Elko made the jump back to College Station by taking the head coaching gig at Texas A&M. He is the man for the job for Aggies too according to the opinion of Greg McElroy.

McElroy spoke about the hire of Elko at Texas A&M during ‘Always College Football’ this week. Based on what he has gotten to know about him over the past few years, he is positive about how his tenure could play out with the Aggies.

“I’m very optimistic about it,” said McElroy. “I’ve called games with Mike Elko. Have been around him for quite a while, gotten to know him even dating back to his time when he was at A&M and at Notre Dame. So I’ve been around him for a while. I feel like I’ve got a good beat on who he is.”

“He’s the 2022 ACC Coach of the Year,” McElroy said. “Had an amazing 9-4 year (at Duke), had a great defense. Had a great defense when he was at Texas A&M there in 2020.”

With that resumé and previous experience with the program as defensive coordinator, Elko was a clear candidate to be the 25th head coach at Texas A&M. However, it’s his intangibles as a coach and ability to capitalize on his opportunity both at the school and in the state that really make McElroy think that it could pan out.

“He also, I think, understands the landscape of what he’s getting into. They didn’t give him a plaque with no date on it saying national championship or bust,” said McElroy. “The Aggies have deep pockets, they have really well-resourced NIL. They have a location where they’re 90 minutes from Houston, a few hours from Dallas. They should be able to attract a lot of really quality pieces.”

“If you look at what Mike Elko has been in the past? He’s a great teacher, he’s a great defensive mind. I think he’s smart, I think he’s really savvy. I think he’s going to know how to play the game,” said McElroy. “At A&M? As much of it is about playing the game, making sure everybody’s all in, and making sure everybody’s buying in to what it is that you’re putting forth.”