Mike Elko: 'I'm trying my hardest to make sure we're not calling the Hogs at all'

The Texas A&M Aggies and Arkansas Razorbacks are getting ready to renew their rivalry this weekend. It’s a game where Aggies head coach Mike Elko would like to do all he can to prevent the Razorbacks from calling the Hogs.

Calling the Hogs is, of course, a tradition for Arkansas, becoming one of the iconic cheers in all of college football. That call itself of “Woooooooooo, Pig! Sooie!” can be intimidating in its own right.

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“That’s the plan [to beat Arkansas],” Mike Elko said on The Aggie Football Hour. “My son asked me how things are going. I said, ‘I’m trying my hardest to make sure we’re not calling the Hogs at all on Saturday.'”

While this is Mike Elko’s first season as the head coach at Texas A&M, it’s not his first season in College Station. From 2018 to 2021, he was the team’s defensive coordinator. During that time, he went 3-1 against the Razorbacks.

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“So, that’s the plan,” Elko said. “Go up there on Saturday and play the best football game we can and come out of there with the trophy one more time.”

The rivalry between Texas A&M and Arkansas goes back to 1903 and became an important game to both programs during their time in the Southwest Conference. That’s where the “Southwest Classic Trophy” name comes from. However, the rivalry was lost for a stretch when Arkansas left the Southwest Conference for the SEC.

Arkansas leads the all-time series 42-35-3. However, in recent seasons, the Aggies have had the upper hand in the rivalry. Since 2012, Texas A&M’s first SEC season, the Aggies hold a record of 11-1 over the Razorbacks.

The game will be played at AT&T Stadium in Arlington as a neutral site game. This is the last time the game is going to be played there before moving back to campus next season.

Mike Elko reveals Texas A&M QB Conner Weigman’s status for Arkansas game

Texas A&M has been without starting quarterback Conner Weigman for the last two weeks. Since then, Mike Elko has explained that his quarterback’s status is still up in the air.

“Yeah, he’ll be a game-time decision,” Elko said.

After dressing but not playing against Florida, Weigman didn’t even dress for the Bowling Green game in Week 4. That decision, Elko explained, came down to how much goes into preparation.

“We just didn’t want to give him the shot again,” Elko said. “He’s still just dealing with the pain of that shoulder injury. So, it’s just trying to get him to where he can throw comfortably. We didn’t feel like it was the right thing to try to go back through the same process again. So, we decided to just go with Jaylen [Henderson] as number two tonight.”