Rece Davis, Pete Thamel consider the potential targets of Mike Elko's postgame callout

After Texas A&M‘s 38-23 win over LSU on Saturday, Aggies head coach Mike Elko took a jab at somebody in his postgame press conference, but his target remains a mystery. Whoever it was, Elko didn’t mince words.

“This is a real program,” Elko said. “It’s not fake. It’s not a politician running this program, talking fast and BSing everybody. This is a real program and for all the recruits out there, this is a real place.”

Initially, college football fans around the nation assumed Elko was referring to former Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher. However, on Monday, Elko said his comments weren’t directed at Fisher and that he has “nothing but respect” for his predecessor.

Naturally, the other option people claimed Elko was referring to is LSU head coach Brian Kelly. After all, Elko had just handed Kelly a defeat on the field. Why not hand him another in the postgame press conference? Nonetheless, ESPN’s Pete Thamel isn’t sure the answer is so simple.

“The targets of the Mike Elko quote, I was told reliably, were Jordan Carter, Aaron Gregory and Samu Moala. Those are the three four-stars who committed to Texas A&M yesterday,” Thamel said Monday. “Mike Elko had no target. The predecessor to the quote that went viral was basically directed at recruits.

“It’s the way we talk to the young people and the things we talk about — the messaging, how we bring really good people into the building,” Thamel continued. “I was told that ‘fast-talking politician’ [comment], which opened doors, was really just like a euphemism.”

ESPN College GameDay host Rece Davis wasn’t so quick to dismiss the other theories and even posited a new potential target that hadn’t previously been mentioned.

“The low-key target could have also been Steve Sarkisian because now you’re back in the conference with Texas. You’re always fighting against Texas,” Davis said. “I don’t know that Sark fits the mold of what he said.

“Everything is, in some way, shape, form or fashion, aimed at Texas. Texas A&M left the Big 12 to go to the SEC because of Texas. They didn’t want Texas to come in because they don’t like Texas. So that’s a possibility too.”

Fans will likely never definitively know who Elko was targeting in his postgame speech. Alas, whoever it was, recruits seemingly liked the message.