Alan Weddell offers thoughts on Elko's Aggies, 16-team league & more

As 2024 Fall Camp rolls on, former Texas A&M linebacker coach Alan Weddell joined Tuesday's edition of TexAgs Radio to share a coach's perspective on key position groups for the Aggies this season. Weddell also speaks on Texas and Oklahoma's addition to the SEC.

Key notes from Alan Weddell interview

• How are you going to fit Nana Boadi-Owusu's name on the back of that 12th Man jersey? How’s that going to work? I hope he plays as well as his name is.
   
• I am totally 100 percent retired and enjoying life, so I will be up in College Station often for all different sporting events. I’m looking forward to that.
   
• I’m excited about coach Mike Elko. The last time we had a defensive-minded coach in R.C. Slocum, we won a championship. It’s a mindset. In the day of the transfer portal and NIL, your team chemistry needs so much. Your roster changes so much. There are so many new faces in the spring learning the system, and now, you have some transfers in. It’ll be a different team on the field and chemistry-wise. It’s different, but it’s exciting as well.
   
• We’ll see how the ups and downs go this season. I’m excited for Aggie football this year. I think the schedule is as good as you can possibly get in the SEC, especially the home schedule. We need to make the most of it, ride it out and have some fun.
   
• I think that Mike Elko has a bigger defensive package and more bullets in his gun now. I think that is a positive. I think they have addressed the secondary problems, and that defensive line... If there’s a better one in the nation, I don’t want to be a running back going against it. I think our defensive line is going to be our strength this year.
   
• I think Taurean York is a stud. I think he is as good as we have had in 10 years. He’s got tremendous instincts, and that is something you just can’t coach. He works hard, too. He checks every box. He’s young, too. I think he is going to be one of the legendary linebackers by the time he’s done.
   
• I think the other linebackers are going to come around. There is no question that they have talent, but can they make plays? The guys that make plays will play, and if we can do that, we’ll win a lot of games. With a defensive line like the one we have, the linebackers should be free to fly.
   
• What has changed? That’s a 78 million-dollar question. I think it comes down to the chemistry, how you handle NIL and how you maneuver in the portal. Yes, there is talent, but will they fit in the Texas A&M culture? There’s something special there. I think it has been more of a problem there compared to schematically.
   
• Now offensively, I think we had two different theories last year. I don’t know, but I think the difference in college football is this. Look at Alabama and Georgia. It is a different world for them in their locker room culture. I think that is the key. So, let’s make sure we get the right kids who aren’t necessarily affected by NIL negatively.
   
• Conner Weigman is a stud. If he’s healthy, we are going to win 10 or 12 ball games. He can do it all. He’s a great leader and a great kid, and he makes the locker room good. That is what you have to have as a quarterback.
   
• Conner was a five-star for a reason. He needs to stay healthy and play within himself. He’s not Johnny Manziel, but he’s damn good. If that offensive line comes around, it’ll be the key to winning the SEC. The defense will keep us in the game, but the offense needs to win them.
   
• I think Texas is pretty good talent-wise, and I think they are well-coached. Austin is an easy place to recruit, but it can be a hard place to play and coach. Not losing to a Mississippi State when they shouldn’t be going to be the key.
   
• I’m glad the rivalry game is happening. Texas is good. When Texas and Texas A&M are good, it makes for great football.
   
• Texas’ problem has been losing games they shouldn’t. They beat Oklahoma when they’re supposed to, but then drop a game to Kansas the next week. The SEC is a battle, so it’s interesting. Their schedule isn’t the toughest, but they are in with the big boys now. They aren’t going to run it.
   
• Oklahoma doesn’t have the talent level that the top-tier teams have, but they are going to make a commitment to get as good. I like Brent Venables. They have to increase their talent and use NIL. If they can do that, they can compete.
   
• I like any coach on the defensive side. They come in with the attitude that if they can’t score, they can’t win. I remember when they installed a hurry-up offense in my last year at Texas A&M, so our depth on defense was so important. You have to recruit for that.
   
• You can’t say you have a great defensive line. You have to have two great defensive lines. The game has totally changed, but a defensive mindset, especially in practice, carries over into the games.
   
• I think the keys that will make or break the season are this: I think the defensive line has to play up to expectations and for Conner Weigman to stay healthy. We have some good running backs, but our young receivers have to come through. Can our secondary play SEC football? Can the receivers make a play with the ball? Those are some questions I would have. If they can hold up, that’s when we get that 10-win season. If they don’t, we might be fighting to find that eighth win.