Mike Elko: CFP First Round Press Conference Quotes

Mike Elko met the press on Monday at the Aggies' first press conference of game week for the College Football Playoff First Round matchup with Miami.

Opening Statement:

"Obviously have to start by congratulating Coach Morrison and the women's volleyball team for what happened yesterday. Not just the win, but in so many ways, the way they won. For them to lose the fourth set 37-35, turn around and still find the resiliency and the grit to pull it out in the fifth set, it was just remarkable. And so hats off to them and certainly good luck to them in the Final Four.

"Some internal housekeeping that I just want to make known to everybody. Did a pretty extensive offensive coordinator search, talked to five different candidates who were all running offenses at different places across the country, and really felt like the right person for the job was Holmon Wiggins. So we've just decided to elevate Holmon Wiggins to offensive coordinator. He's the only person we offered the position to. He accepted, and so we're very excited with him leading our offense into the future. He'll do a phenomenal job. We're really excited about that. I think that's the absolute best thing for Texas A&M football moving forward.

"From there, turning our attention into the game, it's great to be in the game week prep. Sometimes when you get into these extended absences it just feels like it's forever away. So for us to be able to go in today and enter the team meeting and talk about it's game week, we're into our normal game week, our preparation, game week routine. Obviously excited for the opportunity to go out and battle Miami. We've already kind of addressed all of that. From there, we'll open it up to questions."

When it comes to Holmon Wiggins, how much experience do you think he brings to the table with what he was in his co-OC role and is that what made that make sense?

"I think he's extremely intelligent. I think he's very bright. I think he's got a great offensive mind. He obviously played a big role in what we've done around here on offense at this point. He's spent a lot of time under some really good offensive coordinators over his career, and I think just sees the game in a way that's very compatible with how we want our offense to run. I think it makes a lot of sense."

And as far as the season goes, what would you kind of deem as like a successful season? Are you kind of championship or bust or do you think for this season in particular do you think just making it is a success? How would you kind of value that?

"I don't know that you define it that way. We're in year two. We're trying to establish a championship type of program. We haven't won a championship around here since 1939, so that's a lot of busts if that's the only marker. I think we're obviously in this thing to compete for a national championship for sure. We believe we can. We believe we're one of the teams that's capable of going out there and winning it, but I don't know that you define seasons like that. I don't know that I've ever checked off a box on a season like success/failure. I think you want to see growth. You want to see your program elevating in the direction you want it to go. And you want to get yourself into the opportunity to compete for things down the stretch. And we've been able to do that. Obviously we've got a great opportunity Saturday."

To be clear, will Collin (Klein) still be calling the place through the playoff run?

"Yes."

And then with Lyle Hemphill becoming defensive coordinator, what did you see in him? That was an easy internal transition, I guess, for you guys?

"Yeah, a guy that obviously has a lot of familiarity with what we do systematically. Has been very successful as a defensive coordinator. Was really, really successful at James Madison two seasons ago and has been really helpful behind the scenes in what we've been able to put together this year. I just think that one kind of made a lot of sense."

What do you think about Carson Beck and some of the challenges he could present to your team?

"Really talented kid. Obviously has a lot of experience playing in these types of games, played in these types of venues. So he certainly will come in and I'm sure be very comfortable. An elite arm talent, (he has) the ability to make throws all over the field. I think he sees the game really well. He's played a lot of college football and is certainly a seasoned quarterback that'll be a big challenge for us."

I know we've talked about this a lot this year especially, but I wonder if you could reflect on how far you've seen Marcel come from when you got here to where he's at now?

"I think he's made a lot of growth. He's elevated the way you would have wanted him to this year. He's made a lot of plays with his legs, with his arm. He's become a true, true dual-threat quarterback, and obviously has been part of a really productive explosive offense this year. We'll need that to continue to have a chance in the playoffs."

You brought up our volleyball team…can you use that for your own team to show how the volleyball team went out there, defied expectations and showed a lot of grit?

"I'm going to answer the question that you're trying to ask. Expectations get created by the same national narrative and rhetoric that we don't pay any attention to. I'm quite certain that those girls took the court yesterday not really caring what anybody had to say, believing in who they were, believing in their culture, believing in their program, and they went out and they fought and they won a volleyball game. It's the same mindset we try to have as a football program. We're not trying to be defined by any outside opinions of who we are or what we're capable of or the good or the bad. We're not trying to be defined by outside measures of success and failure for a season. We believe in our culture, we believe in who we are, we believe in the program that we've built and we're looking forward for the opportunity to go out and compete for three and a half hours on Saturday. Nobody cares about any of that other stuff. We're competitors in the arena of sports. So all that other stuff is for you guys. None of us pay any attention to that. I'm quite certain, if you ask any of them, they would tell you they did exactly what they expected to do yesterday. That's a very common thought for competitive athletes."

Over the last three weeks or so, what did y'all want to get accomplished and how much did y'all? And then I'm going to also ask about the overall health of the team.

"Health overall, the team is good. And I think that was a priority, to get rested, get refreshed. You want to go into the playoffs fresh and ready to roll. Obviously then you want to kind of get back into practicing at a speed and pace and tempo that you need to so you can go out and play. It's always challenging coming off of a bye week. This is coming off of two consecutive bye weeks. So we want to make sure that we're practicing at a tempo that allows us to go out and play the game the way we want to, and I think we're doing that. Tomorrow will be a big day for us as we get into the middle of game-week prep and tomorrow and Wednesday will be big practices for us."

Trey made a comment last week or whenever it was that he wasn't too worried about the some of the guys on the Miami defensive front. Do you ever react to things like that? Do you care? Do you encourage or talk to guys about, hey, be careful about what you say?

"Now you're starting to see why I don't pay attention to the national rhetoric (laughter). I think you put a mic in front of a kid the day we do selection ceremonies, and…I don't know. We've got a tremendous amount of respect for their defensive ends. They're very talented football players. Our guys know that. I certainly anticipate them to be very fired up to play regardless of what gets said. I certainly don't think that bulletin board material is necessary when you go into the playoffs. But we have a lot of respect for those two kids. They are very talented."

Defensively you guys have been great all year on third down. Miami comes in top 20 in conversions on third down. What have you seen from your scout looking at them on that specific down and what kind of challenges do they present to you guys?

"I think it starts with the experienced quarterback. He does a really good job of delivering the football, sees things really well, knows where to go with the ball, is able to get out in a really timely manner. They've got a really talented group of wide receivers, and that helps. They can create separation and get open quickly. And then I think they've done a really good job of winning the chains and putting themselves into third down situations that they can manage effectively. They've been very successful, and their tape is very slanted towards 3^rd-and-6 or less. We've been very successful and our tape is slanted towards 3^rd-and-7 or more. I think that probably plays a little bit of a role too. Who wins the early downs to kind of create the third-down situations I think will be a big part of it."

Your game would normally be kicking off Saturday night, if not for the NFL complication. What are your thoughts on the impact of the NFL on college football in general?

"You know, really just put the ball down and play. We're excited for the opportunity to go out in front of the 12th Man. We've played 11 o'clock kicks before and the stadium atmosphere has been great. So if that's what time we're playing, we'll be ready to go."

The coaching carousel has impacted several playoff teams, especially you guys with two coordinators taking other jobs. How in the future can college football's calendar be changed to limit the carousel's impact on playoff teams and how are you managing that with your coordinators?

"I think in terms of our internal stuff, I'm very confident and comfortable with the types of people we have in this building that they're going to handle their jobs the way they should as we finish this thing out. I know they're both excited for an opportunity to compete in the playoffs and to go compete for a national championship. That's the internal part. The external part, in terms of the calendar, I've said this many times before. I just don't think there's a solution. When you're trying to figure out how to manage television contracts, playoffs with academic calendars and university presidents, you've got a lot of people making decisions unilaterally for what's best for their area. And so probably at some point what's going to have to happen is some type of group together or board together that can make decisions for the best interest of college football. And we just seem a long way away from that."

As you've taken a deeper dive this last weekend in Miami, is there one particular thing that jumps off the tape at you when you look at them?

"Yeah, talent. Extremely talented, very athletic. Defensively, they're very long. They've got a lot of players that can run and hit. They're very good on the front. And then offensively just a very explosive group of skilled athletes that can make a lot of plays in space."

With a couple of weeks now, how have you seen the team's response and their mentality heading into a game week? And has this time off helped? I know you talked about this team's pretty healthy…
"Obviously everyone's excited. It's the first opportunity to compete in the playoffs and it's what you get into the sport for. It's what you sign up for. So yeah, there's a lot of excitement, a lot of energy getting ready for this game for sure."

What did you learn about your team from the Texas loss and also how good a job has your senior leadership done in letting the younger guys know that there are bigger fish to fry in the CFP?

"I don't know that we talked about it in that regard. Obviously we didn't play a really good second half. We've looked at the tape. We've seen the areas where we were deficient and I think (have) made the proper adjustments. At the end of the day, we're just excited to get back out on the field and obviously know that there's a really big game in front of us to play on Saturday. So I haven't spent a lot of time talking about that one."

You and Coach Klein have built a distinct offensive identity this year. How much does that identity change or stay the same in a one-and-done environment like the college football playoff?

Yeah, I don't know that you can ever go away from your identity. That's what defines who you are. Here we joke about it all the time. You can't call plays the day after the game. When you get to the end of the season and there's a true finality to it, you really don't want to hold anything for tomorrow. And so we feel like we have a really good plan. Things that obviously are who we are, but also some things that create some wrinkles and create some challenges for the other team. I think we'll just go out there and kind of let it loose and play the best we can."

I know you don't have to say much to the 12th Man, but do you have a message to the fans that are coming and ready for this college football playoff environment?

"Yeah, I think the message is you have wanted this for a long time. You have wanted a program that would compete and play big games on big stages. To get an opportunity to do it right here in Kyle Field for the first time is special. And so this is a thank you to all of them for their support all year and maybe a rallying cry to say let's make Saturday the best environment we've had in Kyle in a really long time."

Do you feel A&M has lost any of its mojo with the tough first half against South Carolina and the loss to Texas? Or is that all in the past? Have you in any way have had to tell the team to hit the reset button?

"I think by definition it's all in the past because it happened a while ago. We have to hit the reset button because we've got a game to play Saturday and certainly we don't want to spend much time thinking about those things. We're excited for the opportunity."

What does it say about the program to have multiple transfer players come in and take home silverware and win awards?

"Maybe that we've done a good job of identifying talent. I think if you look at who those guys are, I'm not sure that many of them were highly regarded when we signed them.
Certainly Cashius (Howell) was not. He was almost an afterthought. He was a kid that we felt very strong about. And so just maybe it's a testament to our ability to evaluate players and who the right players and right fits are and then to develop them and fit them into our culture and our system so that they can go out and perform at an elite level.

Then how valuable is this playoff experience for the underclassmen? Maybe not getting on the field as much, but getting to see what it's like moving forward with the program.

"I think everything is valuable experience. I think every opportunity that we get to play in big stages, big games is, and we've talked about this a lot, but we haven't really been able to do this often. So for us to be in meaningful games against teams that the game is meaningful for them as well, those are different types of atmospheres, different types of stages. And I think that's obviously where this program needs to be. It needs to be every year. With each opportunity we get, it's a great opportunity for us to build."

From a lot of players that we've talked to, they mentioned Holmon as a person that got them to A&M. How much is he involved in or how good has he done in recruiting and how many players does it seems like owe him to being here?

"I think if you would say what is the most improved area on your team, it's wide receiver talent. If you were to say what's the most improved area of your offense, it would be passing game. And so certainly he plays a role in all of that, right? He plays a role in the accumulation of talent. He plays a role in developing them and coaching them in the schematics that go behind it. All of that plays a role in why you're very comfortable elevating him because you see every day the role that he's played in making this offense into what it's become. Obviously that's not to take anything away from Coach Klein and the job he did, but I think you see day in and day out the role that Coach Wiggins had in this. And I think that's what made the decision."

I know it's a byproduct of the goals that you have, but as a coach who's involved in the community how important is the economic impact of having another game in Kyle Field and being able to support some of those businesses with that?

"It's huge. I actually got a text from somebody in town saying thank you for the Christmas present of having a home weekend on December 20th when otherwise the local economy is maybe not at its highest when kids are out of town and there's not much going on. For us to be able to bring everybody back for another weekend, I'm sure it has a tremendous impact on the community. Not that that's the reason why we want to be at this point, we want to be in it for ourselves, but certainly there's some collateral effects that it has and that's great for the community of Bryan-College Station for sure."

You were talking about Beck getting the ball out quickly. When you face an offense that does kind of thrive with the quick passing game and get the ball out to the receivers in space, not to give up the store, but how do you guys go about addressing that defensively?

"Try to stop it (laughter). No, I think you want to impact him, and I think impacting the quarterback is always critical. So you start with kind of what they do well and then you've got to try to create ways to impact and affect that. Some of that is trying to get him to hold the ball a little bit longer to give your rush a chance. Some of it is trying to take away some of the initial reads and looks, how you disguise things, those types of things."

Defensively, they're really, really good against the run. How important for the overall game plan is it to go out there and establish the running game right off the bat?

"I think it's always a balancing act between what their strengths are, what your strengths are, and how you attack a team. When you're playing a defensive line like this, we've got to play in front of the chains. I think that's going to be really, really important. We're going to have to stay out of obvious throwing situations as best we can because then we become one dimensional and it becomes really challenging. I think you're trying to kind of figure out what the best way to go at all of that is I don't think it's 'They're really good at stopping the run, so we have to establish the run', but I do think how we kind of neutralize or combat their strengths is important and we have to find a creative way to do that."

What about Malachi Toney's skill set makes him such a unique player to game plan against?

"The amount of ways he can impact a game, how explosive he is when he gets the ball in his hands, and then obviously for a very young kid I think he's got really elite route-running skills and separation. Creating separation. So I think when you look at him on tape it's really hard to believe you're watching a true freshman. He's extremely talented.
He's extremely dynamic and certainly a kid that has been a handful for everyone that they've played this year."

You've been mentioning just how big it is that the town of College Station finally has a playoff game. And as someone that was here back in 2020, when A&M just barely missed the College Football Playoff, what does it mean to you and the team to be the ones that finally brought a playoff game here?

"I think it means that we're ascending in the direction we want to go. But again, we've talked about this a lot. We've said this on this podium. We've said this a lot behind the scenes. We didn't 'just' want to make the playoffs. That's obviously the first step. You can't advance, you can't compete for national championships if you're not even in the party. But we don't want to be the ones that just get invited and then have to go home. Now the focus is about taking this thing to the next level and continuing to compete as long as we can with this team."

What are the characteristics of a Mario Cristobal team, and how good or nice is it that both programs are making their first appearance in the CFP?

"I think very physical. They try to really control the line of scrimmage. You can see his demeanor and his mindset and how they play. They're a big, physical, powerful team.
They're going to be very aggressive in how they come after us. And I don't know where they're at with making the playoffs for the first time. I'm not really sure how that…I don't know. We'll find out Saturday."

You've already kind of mentioned it a little bit, but what has impressed you most about Marcel Reed's development since you first met him? And do you think being a son of a coach has helped with his maturity and mindset?

"Yeah, I think he's taken a lot of steps this year. He's become a lot more comfortable in our offense. He's throwing the ball a lot better out of the pocket. He's really been impactful in our games and been a really, really tremendous leader for us this year.

What's LeVeon's status as far as Saturday? And if he's available, what dimension would that bring to the offense with your other two backs?

"Yeah, we're kind of in wait and see mode on that one, so we'll see where that goes."

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