Press Conference: Elko provides housekeeping notes as A&M gears up for '26

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

Mike Elko

• It's been a whirlwind since the Miami game. Excited about what we added and the direction the program continues to trend in. Offensively, we brought in seven transfers and 12 HS kids. Evan Jacobson will be joining us in the spring.
   
• We brought in Derek Shay to help with TEs. We brought in Rich Skrosky, who was with us at Duke. We hired Drew Hollingshead. We brought in Brad Correlson. He was with Holmon Wiggins at Alabama.
   
• We brought in 10 defensive transfers and 13 HS players. We brought BGA to the corners coach. He was ready for it. Great to get Elijah Robinson back. Brought Travis Williams in from Arkansas. He gives us juice and energy. Zach Sparber was with us at Duke. We brought in Paul Williams from Stanford for the secondary room.
   
• We added five specialists and three HS kids. We hired Tony Thompson to be a special teams analyst who comes from Purdue.
   
• We talked about going into a unique spot where there are stil hole sin the upper part of our roster when we took over. Mark Nabou Jr. comes back, and then outside of that, the oldest OL we had was a sophomore. We added two edge guys in Wilkin Formby and Tyree Adams. We got Coen Echols. We tried to retain him in the class when I got hired. Trovon Baugh, we tried to get to Duke.
   
• That should be the mark for this program, needing to have more NFL guys. For us to be the program we want to be, we need to consistently produce NFL players. Those are markers. Hopefully, it capitalizes in the NFL Draft. That is a tremendous indicator of the talent and development in the program. That has to be every year. We lost a lot of talented players, so there has to be development this offseason.
   
• Tremendously in favor of the one portal window. The more kids can make the decisions they want to make, the better it will be. We will never get rid of tampering.
   
• Bringing in Houston Thomas is cool. He went to school with my older son. I watched this development in HS. It made a lot of sense for all parties.
   
• Elijah Robinson and I came here together when I got hired. When he tried to get into a co-DC/DL role, he became one of the most coveted coaches in the country. I’ve worked hand in hand with him.
   
• We need experienced guys on the DL. One of the reasons we had success with defendive lineman is because each one fits our needs.
   
• The thing that makes us better at predicting NFL Draft picks is that I want to wait until we play football. Those conversations happen when you play. We see a path to double-digits draft picks next year.
   
• I miss Le’Veon Moss. I wish we could have him back. I think his best football got taken away. He’s an Aggie for life. I think we have a good RB room.
   
• That injury took a major toll on Rueben Owens II. Being healthy from the beginning, it will be good for him. You saw Jamarrion Morrow. Tiger Riden Jr. will impact the room. We feel like we have two of the best HS backs in the country. We will have a lot of competition to see who gets carries.
   
• Wiggins is an elite football coach. He has worked extremely hard to play a major role in the success on offense. We felt like it was the natural thing that made sense. I trust him to the highest-level.
   
• We offer them some education as they go through the different steps of the draft. There are a lot of people who have opinions, to different degrees, with each kid. It’s where this program needs to get to, and now it needs to stay there.
   
• We wanted to get a taller kid. Isaiah Horton is a taller physical receiver. It's another diverse skillset for the guys we return. We tried to get him last year.
   
• I told our team that our highs in 2026 were high enough to win a national championship. We weren't able to hit those marks consistently. Last year was about finishing. Consistency and urgency have been the two words we have used. A lot of that applies to Marcel Reed. That’s the next step for him and everyone in the program.
   
• David Olano did not come easily. We were able to land him, and we emphasize the special team a lot in this program. Retooling that room was really important.
   
• For us to become the program we want to be, there are checkmarks we had to hit. Being in the CFP, playing for the SEC Championship opportunity, we hadn't done any of that. We had to do that first. Comfort in those settings matters.
   
• It would be cool if this got back to being an amateur sport.
   
• People need to understand that recruiting in the portal is not like going to the grocery store and picking what you want for the price you want. There are a lot of standpoints you have to look at. You dont look at what you didn't get. You want to hit the marks. 
   
• We had a good inkling that Will Lee III and Taurean York would go to the NFL. Rickey Gibson III made a ton of sense for us. He was hurt last year. Julian Humphrey will compete at corner, too. With Ray Coney, we wanted one older, experienced LB. He was productive at Tulsa.
   
• I think Wilkin Formby is a right tackle. There is a lot of Trey Zuhn III in him. We lost a talented OL, but leadership in that room. We wanted to find those skills, and we thought Formby could bring both.
   
• Anytime there is a job that comes open, we talk to a lot of people. There is no right answer for promoting from within or hiring outside.
   
• I think it’s important when you put a coaching staff together, we talk about culture improving, leading to our success. There is also a level of talent. There is a level of character and commitment with coaches.