Texas A&M Head Football Coach Mike Elko
(Ref: Wrapping up The Citadel game and looking forward to Alabama)
“We handled the game the way we wanted to. We were able to get done, what we wanted to get done, and now it's back to SEC play and a big challenge this week against a really talented Alabama team, a team that I think is functioning really well on both sides of the ball, obviously two tough losses back to back, but against really talented teams that they've been playing, just a really, really good team and huge challenge.”
(Ref: On capitalizing opportunities on the road)
“it's obviously trying to find ways to create early success but also understanding our ability and need to react. If you go back and think of the road wins that we've had in my time here, to get a win on the against a really good team on the road, you know, you're going to have to make plays early, but you're also going to have to overcome failures. You also have to have swings and momentum. That's what it's going to take. It's going to take a full 3.5 hours of battling all the ebbs and flows that come with a road game in this conference. And so, it's about starting fast, but I think it's also as important that we do a much better job of handling the downslides that are going to naturally happen in the game when you play on the road.
(Ref: On facing uphill battles in games and as a program)
“It's head down one day at a time. That's just where we are right now as a program. And that's kind of where we got to a while ago. We've got to keep pushing to push those results onto Saturday and see them the way we need to see them. It has gotten into a head down attack today, get better today, focus on today. That has been our approach for weeks now, and I don't think we can change from that relative to what's happening.
Obviously, aware of it and know what you're talking about, but I just think for us, it's just going out tomorrow and having a great Tuesday and continuing to get better.”
(Ref: On the Offensive operations)
“Yeah, again, I think we are making strides. I think when you watch us at practice, I think we are continuing to improve the overall level. Again, that needs to translate.
And so that wasn't unique to last week. I do feel like the last couple weeks, we've started operating and functioning a little bit back towards where we were heading into the season. And that's the starting point. You know, if it's not happening in practice, it's certainly not going to happen in the game. And so, we have got to continue to go. We got to continue to work. We got to continue to improve, and try to keep moving this thing in a way to be successful.”
(Ref: On TK Normans growth)
“Yeah, I think just again, a kid who's getting more and more comfortable with what it takes to be a white out in this conference at this level, and, you know, a kid who had a really good offseason, putting weight on, putting strength on, and now I think it's starting to translate into his play a little bit, and he had been kind of chipping away, chipping away at opportunities, and you knowwith some of the injuries and some of the different things that have happened, it created some opportunities for him and he's certainly taken advantage of him.”
(Ref: On the transfer portal impacts on player revenge factors)
“Now is it a little bit more businesslike business decision, I think it's probably just a little bit more common. The postgames are not nearly what the postgames were you know, eight, 10 years ago. Now it feels like everybody's got ex-teammates all over the place or guys that you know or guys that you played with. It's not just guys from high school, and It's got a little bit of a different feel to it from that perspective and just kind of how this thing goes. It's way more like the professional ranks where, you know, there's just a lot more, relationships that have formed with former teammates. And so I think at this point it just kind of is what it is. You know, we've got some guys, obviously, that had played there last year, but I don't think that really impacts a ton. I think probably more than anything that we feel is when you have kids going back to their home state. That probably is a little bit more of a moment than kids playing their former teams, honestly.”
(Ref: On the 24 team playoff)
“I've been pretty clear on my thoughts on that. Again, that's not a decision that I get to make or anybody really cares what my thoughts are, but I just hope we're doing right valuing the regular season. I think the thing that makes this sport really special is it's regular season, the pageantry of the regular season, how important the weeks the games are during the regular season. And I just hope that we don't lose that as a college football fan.”
(Ref: On how important it is to create turnovers vs. Alabama)
“Yeah, I think it's always important, regardless of where you play. I think the road amplifies it for sure. The turnover, there's a reason why it's the number one thing hanging on our walls all over this building is because I do. I think it's the number one thing that indicates success. And you know, if you want to go win a football game, a really good starting point is protecting the football and taking it away. And so that's something we preach and obviously we'll play a big role in our success on Saturday.”
(Ref: On how he saw Tennessee affect Alabama)
“Alabama has got a really talented quarterback. They got really good offensive line. They've got really explosive players on the outside. Tennessee maybe did a better job than most of affecting the quarterback with the with the D line and the pass rush and, um, but, you know, I'm sure that's something that they'll rectify a really talented group.”
(Ref: Younger guys earning playing time)
“Yeah, a lot of the guys I mentioned after the game. Think TK Norman's one, Aaron Gregory's playing a lot more, Carson Baker and K.J. Edwards continue to go. Keotti Armstrong continues to get more reps. Sam Roseboro has played a lot of snaps the last couple of weeks. Brandon Davis-Swain and Landon Rink have elevated at defensive tackle, so I think it's all over the field. And then, you mentioned Keelan Russell. Is he similar to the quarterback you guys have faced and just kind of what is your valuation of going up against him?”
(Ref: Preparing for Keelon Russell)
“Yeah, really special player. Obviously familiar with him all the way back to recruiting. He was a really talented kid at Duncanville and is having a really, really good yea. He can attack you in a lot of different ways, can make all of the throws, delivers the ball very confidently in a really tight spiral, has ability with his legs to make plays when the play breaks down, and I think obviously he's been a really huge weapon for them this year. He’s someone we obviously are going to have to try to do our best to slow down as best we can.”
(Ref: Start of players only meetings, philosophy)
“I think just trying to make sure everybody's on the same page. Obviously when things aren't going the way you want them to go, you start having a lot of conversations with the leadership group, the leadership parts of the team, and trying to figure out what can we do? I think certainly on offense, there was some conversation about a lot of new faces, having to gel and play together, thinking there might be a benefit of them just getting in a room together and talking things out without the coaches there to help them through things and just letting them sort through issues and solve issues together. That’ kind of where it started and it’s grown from there.”
(Ref: Progress of the defense over the past month)
“Yeah, I think that we had 2 bad games in back-to-back weeks. I think outside of that, uh, when we function and play the way that we're capable of, we have been a good unit. We’ve probably gotten a little bit more consistent over the last couple weeks.
That's obviously the biggest thing with us on defense that’s been going back for years, but I do think when we play consistent the way we're capable of, we have played pretty solid defense at times.”
(Ref: Impact of the Colorado Transfers)
“I think it's been good getting those guys healthy for sure. I think they both have found ways to impact the game. Brandon Davis-Swain was a kid that we had high hopes and expectations for when we brought him in, he's a bigger bodied kid. And obviously, having lost Tyler and Albert, the need to get a bigger body kid in there was important, so not having him was impactful for sure. It's great to have him back and healthy and playing the way we hoped he could. Tawfiq has a really good nose for the football and a really good feel for downing the football. Adding him into that safety mix to be able to rotate and get take some reps off some guys and obviously go out there and be an explosive playmaker has been really good for us.”
(Ref: Performance of backup O-Line)
“I thought Zaden Krempin probably was the guy that stood out the most of the guys who went in. Ty Thomas, it was good to get him a bunch of reps, too. He's a kid who has been teetering on, playing some, not playing some, and so the more reps we can get him, the better he is. I thought both of those guys stepped up and played well.”
(Ref: Coach Elko’s playing days at Penn, influence of importance of the regular season in light of 24-team playoff)
“Probably not. I was on punt team in college, and so I don't draw much back to my college days. I'm a college football fan, and so my feelings on the 24-team playoff are like driven around, big rivalry weekends, games that you always circled on the calendar, probably more so than my playing days, honestly. It was those Saturdays when you came back to watch the big games on TV afterwards, in my opinion. Don't take any offense to that, call my Penn teammates and all. I think that so much of college football is about those meaningful games, right? And it isn’t hard to draw conclusions of what those last games of the regular season will look like if one team is clearly hosting a playoff game and they're not playing for a conference championship. You just worry about where this thing could go, as you see what week 17 in the NFL is like. I would hate for that to become rivalry weekend in in college football.”
(Ref: Maturation of Dezz Ricks)
“It's been an interesting year at times for him because there's been some weeks where there just hasn't been the ball in the air very much. It feels like we're defending the run a lot more than we're defending the past just over the course of the season. I think he'll probably be looking forward to this week getting into a challenge against a full field passing game, a team that's going to really put the ball in the air quite a bit, and so it'll be a really big challenge for him. Obviously, I think his his growth has been huge. I think coming here as a young kid who hadn't played a ton of football and getting thrust on the scene as a red shirt freshman and playing a lot. A little bit up and down till last year where he became a much more steady player to this year where I think he's playing, so far, pretty good football and obviously some big challenges down the road for him.”
(Ref: Preparing team for a tough road environment)
“I think you just grow on past experiences. This team has been through some challenging road environments, through some ups and downs, where we were able to come away with victories. Through emotional games where we didn't get the job done, but played back and forth football, going back all the way to the 1st year. We just draw back on experiences of what it actually feels like and takes to go on the road in this conference and be successful.”
(Ref: Preparing players to play in their home state)
“You just talk about at the end of the day, you’ve got to play football, right? And that's the most important thing. I think they have to experience that every week to some degree. It just always a little bit special when you're returning home. There's usually more family, there's more ticket requests, there's more people there watching you. I just feel like those games are a little bit more meaningful for guys.”
(Ref: Key to facing Keelon Russell, improving pass rush)
“Yeah, we've got to find ways to become disruptive. That's a big part of it. I think we created a lot more opportunities to do it last year. There's a lot that goes into that. Part of it is the pass rush on early downs can create more 3rd downs to stay in. There's certainly some of it that's just on the pass rush alone. But I think some other factors also, we've got to just continue to find ways to get creative, disrupting the quarterback. I think that's really important with how the game unfolds. Your game control plays a huge role in it too.”
(Ref: Noah Mihkail’s upbringing)
“Yeah, I just think he's a kid that was raised really well. He's got a phenomenal family. We talked a little bit about him being a kid who really fit this program from day one. I just think he's a really, really special kid who was raised the right way, who stands for all of the right things. It's not my place to say what part of that comes from his heritage, but I do think he was raised really, really well. I know he's really proud of his heritage and proud of his family.”
(Ref: Energy shift that comes with younger players)
“We have some talented freshmen that are, that are really starting to get a little bit more comfortable, situated and earning more and more opportunities. Obviously at times that's a daunting thing because you don't want a ton of freshmen running around there, but obviously it's also a promising thing too. It's a great opportunity for those kids to go out there and continue to grow and develop. They’ve got a ton of energy, I think it's starting to translate into the games and as the competition level increases, like it will this week, the ability to continue to play at that level is going to be really important.”
