Elko Era Begins at Kyle Field as Aggies Host No. 7 Fighting Irish

The wait is over. The season is here.

Texas A&M will open the Mike Elko era in front of a sold-out Kyle Field and in front of a national television audience when the Aggies welcome the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame to Aggieland on Saturday night.

No. 7 Notre Dame at No. 20 Texas A&M

Saturday, August 31, 2024 • 6:49 PM
Kyle Field • Bryan-College Station

Forecast: high 80s, 30% chance of rain

WATCH

TV: ABC (Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Holly Rowe)
Watch Live: ESPN App

LISTEN

Radio: Texas A&M Sports Network (Andrew Monaco, Dave Elmendorf, Will Johnson)
1620 AM/94.5 FM (local), SiriusXM 84
Listen Live: 12th Man Mobile App

Spanish Broadcast: Click Here (Pedro Luna, Michel Gonzalez)
102.7 FM (local)
Listen Live: 12th Man Mobile App

FOLLOW

Live Stats: Click Here
Social Media: @AggieFootball on X

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

• Texas A&M and Notre Dame meet for the first time since the 2001 season when the Aggies took down the Irish 24-3 at Kyle Field.
• Sophomore QB Conner Weigman returns as QB1 for Texas A&M after missing much of the 2023 season due to injury ... Weigman tallied 979 yards on 82-of-119 passing, connecting on eight touchdowns through four starts at the beginning of last season, including five scoring strikes in the season-opener against New Mexico.
• Junior OL Trey Zuhn III enters his third year as a starter at left tackle for the Aggies and was selected as a season-long team captain by his teammates in the offseason ... Zuhn anchors a new-look, but experienced offensive line that returns two additional starters from the 2023 season and adds junior transfer Ar’maj Reed-Adams.
• Senior DL Shemar Turner has been a consistent disruptor on the line throughout his career and he serves as a veteran leader for another deeply talented defensive line room this season ... Turner ranked among the top-20 in the SEC with 10.5 tackles for loss and 6.0 sacks last season and stands as the top returner in each category for the Aggies.
• Sophomore LB Taurean York immediately stepped into a leadership role as a true freshman last season, starting all 13 games at mike linebacker ... He finished the regular season third among SEC freshmen with 74 tackles and led all league freshmen with 8.5 tackles for loss.
• Texas A&M saw success in the portal in the off-season, adding 26 transfers for the 2024 season ... Junior DL Nic Scourton helps highlight the group in his return home to Aggieland, garnering Preseason All-America accolades from the AP, Sporting News and ESPN, while also being named to the Nagurski Trophy, Bednarik Award and Lombardi Award Watch Lists after leading the Big Ten with 10.0 sacks to go along with 50 tackles, 15.0 for loss, at Purdue last season.

QUICK HITS

• Head coach Mike Elko returns to Aggieland after previously serving as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach from 2018-21 when he put the A&M defense on the map as the Aggies ranked in the top-30 in total defense every year while also boasting a top-three rush defense in the nation in three of his four previous seasons with the Maroon & White.
• Texas A&M boasted the best rushing defense in the SEC and ranked 14th in the category nationally last season, giving up just 108.8 yards per game ... The Aggies also ranked fifth nationally after allowing just nine rushing scores on the year.
• The Maroon & White led the SEC in sacks and ranked second in tackles for loss, tallying 42.0 and 99.0, respectively, sitting in eighth nationally in both categories ... As a team, the Aggies ranked 19th in the country and third in the SEC in total defense (316.2 y/g).
• The Aggies limited the opposition to less than 245 yards of total offense seven times last season and only allowed an opponent to tally over 100 yards rushing and passing in the same game five on the year.
• Junior DB Bryce Anderson returns as a veteran and vocal leader in the A&M secondary after tallying 54 tackles, good for fourth on the team and second among returners, 7.0 TFL and four breakups last season.
• Graduate K Randy Bond ranked as one of the highest scorers in the nation last season as his 9.7 points per game was fourth and his 126 total points were good for sixth ... His 26 made field goals on the season were also good for fourth nationally ... In August, Bond earned his degree from Texas A&M in aerospace engineering.
• Sophomore DL Nana Boadi-Owusu was named the 12th Man ahead of the 2024 season, becoming just the sixth student-athlete in program history to hold the season-long honor.
• The Aggies are 17-2 in season openers at home since 2000 and have gone 10-2 in their first game of the year since joining the SEC in 2012.

MILESTONES TO WATCH FOR

• Sophomore QB Conner Weigman already ranks among the top-20 all-time at A&M in touchdown passes with 16 entering the year and he is 197 passing yards and just seven completions away from cracking the top-25 on the Aggies’ career lists.
• Graduate WR Moose Muhammad III ranks 18th in career touchdown receptions at Texas A&M with 10 entering the year and his next scoring grab will move him into the top 15 ... Muhammad is also 10 catches and 93 receiving yards away from cracking the top-30 in A&M’s all-time record books.
• Junior WR Noah Thomas’ next touchdown grab will up his career total to eight and allow him to break into A&M’s all-time top-30 in the category.
• Graduate K Randy Bond ranks ninth all-time on the Aggies’ career made field goals list with 39 and is just four field goals away from moving his way into the top five.

WEIGMAN RETURNS AS QB1

• After suffering injuries in his first two seasons, sophomore Conner Weigman returns for A&M under center in 2024.
• Last season. Weigman made it back-to-back 300-yard passing games, three for his career, after tallying 336 at Miami and racking up 337 against ULM ... Weigman also finished the ULM game 25-of-29 passing for a school record 86.2 completion percentage.
• He put on a show against New Mexico to start the 2023 campagin, connecting on five touchdown passes and finishing the opener going 18-of-23 for 236 yards through the air ... His five touchdown passes were the most in regulation by an Aggie QB since Johnny Manziel (2012-13) threw five touchdown passes against Mississippi State in 2013 and the tally is tied for fifth on A&M’s single-game chart.
• Weigman cracked the top 20 on A&M’s all-time career passing touchdowns list in just seven career appearances and is just two scoring passes away from moving into 19th all-time.
• Making his first career start against No. 15 Ole Miss, Weigman put up 338 yards on 28-of-44 passing and four touchdowns ... His passing yards were the most in a game by a true freshman in program history and his four passing TDs were the most by any A&M freshman.
• Weigman was a highly touted prospect out of Bridgeland High School and was rated the No. 1 quarterback by Rivals and ESPN ... He was named a 2022 Under Armour All-American and was a multi-sport athlete that was also rated as one of the top baseball prospects in Texas.

MAROON GOONS

• The Texas A&M offensive line will see a new look in 2024 but returns great experience, returning three of five starters from a year ago. ... The line is anchored by junior Trey Zuhn III, who has been a staple at left tackle over the last two seasons.
• Zuhn started all 13 games last season and has logged 24 starts over the last two years as he helped clear the way for a 1,000-yard rusher in 2022 and helped A&M rack up over 400 yards of total offense in eight games last year.
• In the offseason, sophomore Chase Bisontis made the move to left guard after starting all 12 regular season games he played in at right tackle and the bowl game at right guard as a freshman in 2023 and sophomore Mark Nabou Jr. has taken over at center, where he made one start last year but logged the majority of his snaps at left guard ... The Aggies have also added veteran experience with junior transfer Ar’maj Reed-Adams, who made 15 starts in 31 games played at Kansas.
• The Maroon & White ranked among the top-four in the SEC, allowing 65.0 tackles for loss a season ago.
• Offensive line coach Adam Cushing has joined head coach Mike Elko in Aggieland after two seasons at Duke where his o-line kept its quarterback protected, ranking 12th among Power 5 schools allowing just 17.0 sacks and seventh nationally giving up just 51.0 tackles for loss in 2022 ... Duke also ranked in the top-18 among Power 5 schools in sacks and tackles for loss allowed in 2023.

STEADY BACKER

• Sophomore LB Taurean York immediately stepped into a leadership role as a true freshman in 2023, quarterbacking the defense at mike linebacker, and was selected as a team captain by his teammates ahead of the 2024 season.
• York started all 13 games last season, finishing second on the team with 74 tackles, which ranked in the top-20 among SEC players and third among league freshman, while his 8.5 tackles for loss were the most by an SEC freshman a year ago and ranked fourth on the team.
• He registered the first double-digit tackles game of his career with 11 takedowns against Auburn, including 2.0 for loss ... On the year, York tallied five-or more tackles in nine of the 13 games.
• York was a key contributor to the defense that led the SEC in rushing defense (108.8 y/g) and sacks (42.0), while also standing at second in the league and eighth nationally with 99.0 tackles for loss and 19th in the country, third in the SEC, in total defense (316.2 y/g).

DEPTH ON THE D-LINE

• Texas A&M boasted one of the most talented and unpredictable defensive lines in the nation last season, led by the veteran experience and consistent production from senior Shemar Turner.
• While Turner is the only returning starter on the line, the Aggies consistently used a full second rotation throughout the year that included juniors Shemar Stewart and Albert Regis, and have added Big Ten standout Nic Scourton.
• Individually, Turner tallied 10.5 tackles for loss and 6.0 sacks in 2023, ranking among the top-20 in the league in both categories ... Scourton led the Big Ten and ranked ninth nationally with 10.0 sacks a season ago and sat in fourth among league players with 15.0 tackles for loss.
• The line played a vital role in the Aggies leading the SEC and ranking 13th in the Power 5 in total defense (316.2 y/g)  ... A&M ranked among the top-five Power 5 teams with 99.0 tackles for loss and 42.0 sacks on the year, after beginning SEC play with 15.0 TFL and 7.0 sacks in back-to-back games.
• A&M ranked 10th in the Power 5 and led the SEC in rushing defense (108.8 y/g) and was second in the league allowing just nine rushing scores all season ... The line held ACU to 93 yards on the ground, marking the fifth time last season it kept the opposition’s run game in double figures, also limiting New Mexico (91), Miami (77), Arkansas (42), Alabama (23) and South Carolina (33).
• As a unit, the defensive line was a key part of the Aggies’ success in shutting down their opponents on third downs as they ranked third in the league and 18th nationally allowing just 55 conversions on 171 attempts on the year, good for a 32.2 conversion percentage.

SPECIAL TEAMS SUCCESS

• Graduate K Randy Bond was one of the nation’s leading scorers a season ago, ranking in the top-six nationally with 126 total points on the year, while also sitting in fourth and leading the SEC averaging 9.7 points-per-game and sending 26 field goals through the uprights.
• Bond was one of two FBS kickers to connect on five field goals from 50-plus yards last season as he registered a new career-long with a 52-yarder against ULM and he later connected from the same distance against South Carolina and Mississippi State.
• His 39 career made field goals are the second-best mark among active kickers with only two campaigns and rank ninth in the Aggies’ all-time record books ... Bond’s 73 career made PATs rank among the top-15 all-time at A&M.
• Two Aggies on the 2024 roster have registered a blocked kick in their careers ... Senior DL Shemar Turner blocked a pair of field goal attempts last season, getting his hand on the ball in back-to-back weeks against Ole Miss and Mississippi State, and junior DL Albert Regis blocked a field goal attempt in the win over Miami in 2022.

THE ELKO EFFECT

• Known as one of the top defensive minds in the country, head coach Mike Elko has consistently produced highly disruptive and productive defenses throughout his career, most recently putting the Texas A&M defense on the map during his time as defensive coordinator and carrying the same standard as the head coach at Duke.
• In 2023, Duke led the ACC and ranked 16th nationally in scoring defense (19.0 ppg) while registering a top-five rush defense among league teams and standing in 17th in the country with 67 passes defended ... In Elko’s first season as a head coach, the Blue Devils ranked in the top-35 in the nation in scoring defense, rush defense, rushing touchdowns allowed and passes defended.
• After not finishing in the top 50 nationally in total defense for more than a decade, Elko’s first stint in Aggieland as defensive coordinator from 2018-21 coincided with consistent top-35 finishes, including a top-10 ranking in the 2020 final FBS total defense standings.
• Elko has produced top-50 defenses in 11 of the last 12 years with multiple programs (Duke, Texas A&M, Notre Dame, Wake Forest, Bowling Green).

NEW FACES

• The 2024 Texas A&M football roster features 55 newcomers as the Aggies have welcomed 29 freshmen and 26 transfers to campus this offseason.
• The Maroon & White added 16 student-athletes from Power 5 programs, while junior LB Scooby Williams (Florida), graduate DB Jaydon Hill (Florida), freshman DB Dezz Ricks (Alabama) and senior K Jared Zirkel (Georgia) bring previous SEC knowledge and experience to Aggieland.
• Junior DL Nic Scourton also helps highlight the group of newcomers, receiving lots of preseason recognition as he was named to the Nagurski Trophy, Bednarik Award and Lombardi Award Watch Lists and earned Preseason All-America accolades from The AP, Sport News and ESPN ... In 2023 Scourton had a breakout season at Purdue where he led the Big Ten in sacks and was fourth in the league in tackles for loss.

NON-CONFERENCE GRAVEYARD

• Kyle Field is a graveyard for non-conference opponents with the Aggies enjoying a 39-2 record against non-Big 12 or SEC opponents on their home field since 2010.
• Since joining the SEC, the Aggies are 34-2 against non-conference foes at Kyle Field.