Is Texas A&M a 'new place" under head coach Mike Elko?

Texas A&M's 2025 season was historic from a record and postseason perspective, starting 11-0 for the first time since 1992 and earning its first College Football Playoff bid, only to fall to the eventual national runner-up, the Miami Hurricanes, in the first round. While back-to-back losses to Texas and Miami certainly caused disappointment at the end of the season, it became clear to everyone that head coach Mike Elko was the best hire at the perfect time after six up-and-down seasons under former coach Jimbo Fisher. Building a strong culture that has impacted development and recruiting, AD Trev Alberts fully believes what the New Jersey native is building in College Station, signing him to a six-year, $69 million contract extension back in November.

After losing over 20 players to the transfer portal and the NFL Draft this offseason, Elko and his staff landed 17 transfer additions, along with 26 signees from the 2026 recruiting cycle. This week, On3 writer Chris Low , who recently left ESPN to join the growing company, released an in-depth piece centered around Mike Elko's impact on Texas A&M heading into his third season at the helm, interviewing several players, including star wide receiver Mario Craver. Elko's tight grip on every facet of the program took center stage.

"Everyone always talked about this place like it was one thing, and to some degree it was, but certainly the on-field results didn’t mirror that. I used to say to people all the time that if we want to be a top-5 program consistently, then at some point a (recruit) is going to have to put five hats on the table amongst the elite programs in the country and actually look at that A&M hat and think, ‘Yeah, that one. ’ We were never quite there.

Now, I think we are slowly starting to elevate into those conversations a little bit more often. ” On Thursday, Low made an appearance on fellow On3 analyst Andy Staples and Ari Wasserman's podcast, further stating that Mike Elko's background as Texas A&M defensive coordinator from 2018-2021, during four seasons in which the Aggies entered the year with championship-level expectations, only to finish with nine wins twice, and two 8-4 finishes. Matching these expectations after taking over the program has been Elko's primary focus, and after going from 8-4 in Year 1 to 11-2 and a CFP appearance in his second season, he proved it on the field by ignoring the preseason expectations.