Press Conference: Elko, Aggies preparing for Vegas battle vs. Trojans

The Fightin' Texas Aggies are headed to Sin City over the holidays to face the USC Trojans in the 2024 SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl on Dec. 27. On Tuesday afternoon, Mike Elko, Marcel Reed and Taurean York addressed the local media ahead of A&M's trip to Vegas.

The following are live, paraphrased notes from the Tuesday afternoon media availability:

Mike Elko

• I want to start by saying another thank you to Dave Clawson. To anybody who knows me knows how important Dave has been and how much he has impacted me and my family's lives.
   
• It's about as busy of a two weeks as you can get between roster management, portal, finishing up the last recruiting class and getting ready for the bowl game.
    
• You have a portal calendar, and then the academic calendar doesn't sync. It's less than ideal to go through what we are, roster-wise. I don't have a great solution. We have to figure out some level of centralized leadership because this is getting out of hand. 
    
• I think the three main guys opting out: Shemar Stewart, Shemar Turner and Nic Scourton. They will not play in Vegas. We don't anticipate there being others. They have Senior Bowl practice starting after our bowl game. I think it goes back to culture. 
   
• When you talk about building a championship program, the journey doesn't stop. It is another opportunity for game prep, to go out on the field and play for a trophy. That's a mentality for what we are trying to do here in building a championship team. 
   
• I won’t comment on any transfer additions. 
   
• When you get a bowl game, location and venue matter. Allegiant Stadium is a cool stadium. The matchup matters. That's a name brand in USC. I think it's a really cool game. 
   
• We are bringing back a lot of starters, and there are spots where we can fill in depth and add starters. The direction of this program, I think, is trending upward. This place is easy to sell.
   
• DJ Hicks and Cashius Howell have played a lot of football. Rylen Kennedy will get an increased amount of reps in the bowl game.
   
• I think bowl games are now treated like openers. You have a general gauge of the opposing roster, but you have to figure out a little bit on the fly. 
   
• It is for sure crazier than it has ever been. This sport needs someone to step in and create rules and regulations. I am for the portal and NIL. There is a lot of bad stuff happening in this thing right now. Now more than ever, coaches are crying out for someone to regulate this thing. 
   
• I love Greg Sankey. Whatever rules he tries to do in the SEC only, it won’t work. It has to happen across the board.
   
• Ask me about receivers in a few weeks.
   
• From a game standpoint, Henson’s offense is a lot different. He was the offensive line coach for Coach Jimbo Fisher. That was Coach Fisher's offense. Now, it's a blend of what he wants to do with Coach Lincoln Riley.
   
• USC is a unique offense, for sure. I think they have gotten better signifcantly on defense from last year to this year.
   
• In the world I am in right now, I have not given a single thought to the future of bowl games. 
   
• I think its a good opportunity for Marcel Reed to step forward. There were ups and downs in the QB room this year with how it played out. This is an opportunity for him to get a lot of reps.