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Mike Elko states Texas A&M roster is 'fundamentally not good enough'

Matt Connollyby:Matt Connolly•12/28/24•

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Texas A&M
(© Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images)

Texas A&M first-year head coach Mike Elko feels good about the progress the Aggies made as a program in 2024. The on-the-field results aren’t where they need to be yet, but Elko saw improvement in a lot of areas in Year 1 as the head coach.

Following Friday’s loss to USC in the Las Vegas Bowl, Elko discussed the progress Texas A&M made this season.

“I mean, this is what I told our guys in the locker room, I think this is the reality of our situation,” Elko said. “I think we learned how to become accountable. I think we learned how to care for each other. I think we learned how to practice hard. I think we learned what work ethic looks like.

“None of those things existed in this program when I got here. Not one of them. We had kids on the football team not at the bowl game last year. That’s where we were when I took over.”

With that said, one area Elko believes Texas A&M still needs to improve is overall talent. Elko loves the buy-in within his program, but the players have to be better, whether it’s current players improving or bringing in players from the transfer portal and high school recruits.

“What we didn’t do was get good enough at football. And that’s ultimately my responsibility,” Elko said. “So we are fundamentally not good enough. We are just not good enough right now. So the challenge is, when we get back here in January, that everything has to get turned up.”

It’s not as if the 2024 season was a disaster for Texas A&M. After all, the Aggies were 8-4 in the regular season and a win away from playing in the SEC Championship Game.

But in order for the Texas A&M program to get to where Elko wants it to be, the talent has to improve before the 2025 season.

“You know, we are now where we need to be from a culture standpoint,” Elko said. “Now we have to become a good football program. And so that’s the next step we have to take.”

Texas A&M got off to a 7-1 start to the season and was ranked in the top 10, before dropping four of its final five games to close out the year. Elko is looking to upgrade the talent this offseason and improve A&M’s record in 2025.