Press Conference: Elko's Aggies continue to progress during spring

Texas A&M hit the practice field on Tuesday for the ninth time as the spring slate continues on in Aggieland as the Maroon & White prepare for the 2025 campaign. On Wednesday, Mike Elko and DJ Hicks addressed the media to provide another spring football update.

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

Mike Elko

• Nine practices in. So far, so good. I am happy with the progress. I still don't have all the answers you guys want, but I think we are making progress.
   
• If you look at the teams that are successful, there are a lot more guys staying in programs. It's a testament to where we have gotten with the defensive line culture, too. It becomes a place where if you are a talented defensive lineman, you come here, and you will get you opportunity to get where you want to go.
   
• I am happy with where we are at, injury-wise. We are still rolling three deep. Some guys are knicked up.
   
• We have to replace those defensive linemen. We are excited about the guys in the program who will take the next step. Cashius Howell, DJ Hicks, Albert Regis and Rylan Kennedy. You also have to depth. You add quality in youth. Marco Jones and the three defensive tackles we have, we have plenty in bodies. I am confident that we are making the next step, but it's the middle of spring.
   
• With the secondary, obviously, there is progress. We are moving in the right direction. Does that mean when the lights come on, we will do it at the level it needs to be done? I don't know. We will find out. We just have to keep going.
   
• With the House v. NCAA settlement, we don't even know the roster rules for the season we are about to play. To some degree, you are making sure you have plans and options, but you can also make yourself dizzy thinking about it. It’s hard to pin down. Roster-wise, at the earliest, the roster cuts won't have to happen until the end of fall camp, but that's assuming the settlement actually goes through.
   
• Joint practices or scrimmages would be extremely challenging. What nobody is discussing is class. I would have a hard time asking my kids to go to Lubbock or Waco during spring break. No disrespect to those cities. In doing that, you are out of the mode of fundamentals because you have to shift gears to game planning. In theory, it’s something people are conversing about, but I don't think the reality of it is that simple. 
   
• We are in the back part of spring with a week and a half left. It is about finishing the way we started. It's about not letting up that slack now.
   
• I haven't gotten a sense that spring practices are changing. We are able to really develop in spring ball. For the kids, I’m sure, it gets monotonous.
   
• I did meet Bucky McMillan. I met a couple of the coaches here already. I will certainly be a resource for him. This is really cool place, and we have a really good culture in the athletic department right now.