Mike Elko shares Texas A&M has remained mainly healthy in camp
A huge goal for Texas A&M in fall camp was remaining healthy. The past few seasons have seen key players go down with injuries at certain points of the season. Head coach Mike Elko wanted to make sure his squad was in full health entering the 2024 season, especially with a massive game to open things up.
So, one week into practices, how are the Aggies doing?
Elko has nothing negative to report, saying Texas A&M is nearly 100% healthy. There are a few people away from practice working on themselves but nothing major. A positive sign after a round of injuries across the country has caused a few scares.
“We really haven’t had anything,” Elko said. “We’ve had a couple miss a practice here or there. You guys are out there, you see that group that’s over there doing their work on the side. It’s an extremely small group. So, that’s been good so far.”
Jimbo Fisher‘s tenure in College Station did not end well. Despite having an immense amount of talent, from a recruiting standpoint, Texas A&M could not find wins on the field. This left people in charge no choice but to let go of Fisher and pay a massive buyout.
Elko finds himself in a situation where he needs to buff the roster up a bit but mainly at the depth slots. A lot of the top-end talent is still with the Aggies and will play a massive role. Arguably none bigger than quarterback Conner Weigman, who has seen two consecutive seasons ruined due to injuries.
Having key players stay healthy could result in a first season with a great amount of success for Elko, something Texas A&M desperately needs.
SEC ‘moving toward’ adding required injury reports
The SEC is considering requiring mandatory injury reports in the 2024 campaign, per CBS Sports’ Alex Scarborough and John Talty. On Tuesday, the pair provided further details on the matter.
“A mandatory injury report hasn’t been officially approved, but multiple sources indicated the details are close to being finalized and are expected to be in place at the start of the 2024 season,” they wrote. “A decision could come as early as next week when league athletic directors are scheduled to meet.
“The Big Ten became the first Power Five conference to institute a game day availability report during the 2023 season — a move designed to protect the integrity of the game with respect to gambling. The league’s weekly report had two categories for injured players: questionable or out. Some SEC schools, like LSU and Florida, released weekly injury reports last season, but the majority opted against the practice.”