Chris Harrington 'excited' to see new names shine on A&M's defense

Former Texas A&M defensive lineman Chris Harrington was back on TexAgs Live on Wednesday morning as the 2025 campaign creeps closer. The two-time All-Big 12 pick spoke about his excitement for new names to shine along A&M's defensive front and more.

Key notes from Chris Harrington interview

• When I played, July was always the calm before the storm. You get through spring ball and summer conditioning. You get time to heal up and get ready. I was texting with our group about running 110s. We probably ran 25 110s, and they were timed. It was brutal, but I was in the best shape of my life. Right now, it’s just about getting the body right for the grueling SEC schedule. I think that one of the most important things is staying healthy through the season. All that work is done during the offseason when you prepare.
   
• It wasn't till my junior season that I was performing at a high enough level to be a game-changer. I think everything’s advanced from the time I was playing. The things I was doing in college, they are doing in high school. Technology, training, and specialization.
   
• You know, I took my boys to visit Jaxson Appel. They didfour4 days of running mechanics training. That wasn’t stuff we got until we were at Texas A&M. Now my boys, who are eight and 10 years old, are getting to do that stuff so young. Being able to know your body and feel your muscles. To learn good running mechanics. To learn explosive movements.
   
• I believe in playing all sports. My boys play a lot of baseball, but right now, we aren’t throwing. We’re running. We went fishing for the past four days in Port O'Connor. We are enjoying our break a little bit. Hopefully, the players are enjoying their break. I’m excited to get back, and I did some research last night for the interview. I’m excited about what we have coming up this season.
   
• It’s great to see we have the starting four coming back with some experience. I’m excited to see Cashius Howell in his second year at A&M. At times, he was a difference-maker last season. You got DJ Hicks and Albert Regis in the middle. I’m excited about the transfer Tyler Onyedim. I'm excited to watch him play. You got T.J. Searcy. It seems like we added some pieces from the portal.
   
• I’m excited about this 2026 class from the defensive front perspective. We won the recruiting battle for the guy from Georgia in Bryce Perry-Wright‍.
   
• I’m just excited to see some new names. I was excited to hear about Marco Jones in the spring game with five sacks and six tackles for loss. That's impressive for a freshman.
   
• Understanding your role in the system is important. Last year, we saw breakdowns occur that teams took advantage of, but that was my M.O. I was a system guy. I understood the defense, and there would be times when I'd line up the defensive tackle next to me and remind him what we had going on. The team defense is built through camp and watching film to fix it.
   
• Last year, we had a really good defensive front on paper, but we didn’t see it with sacks and pressures on the quarterbacks. A big part of that comes down to coverage. You talk about the run game opening up opportunities for the defensive line to get pressure. Just as much as the secondary, tight coverage gives the guys some time to get back there and make an impact. That’s just as important.
   
• I’m excited to see Mike Elko’s role with the defense as far as playing along and his impact on the secondary. For what they did last season in pulling it together, I was impressed. If I know anything about Elko, he’s figuring out how to patch the holes and have a solid defense across the board.
   
• Elko is exhibiting good leadership. Knowing his personnel. Knowing his system. Having gone through practices. Understanding players' strengths and weaknesses and playing into those. I think it comes down to game day. It's gut decisions and recognizing quickly the adjustments that need to be made, but just having an overall feel for their guys. It takes good leadership and the ability to see the whole defense. We may see something happen upfront, but it could’ve been something in the back end that opened up an opportunity. Getting the team to gel together and execute highly is the key.