Elko pleased by A&M's increased cohesion and communication

Click HERE to view Texas A&M’s Tuesday press conference.

The postgame tirade Texas A&M coach Mike Elko went on following a Las Vegas Bowl loss to USC won’t soon be forgotten.

Elko expressed great frustration with the Aggies’ secondary play following the 35-31 defeat.

But in a Tuesday press conference at Kyle Field, Elko expressed optimism because of the progress that’s been shown so far in August football camp.

Elko said much of the progress is a byproduct of players just being familiar with one another. Last year, cornerback Will Lee III, cornerback Dezz Ricks and safety Marcus Ratcliffe were newcomers trying to mesh with a few holdovers.

This season, there seems to be more cohesion.

“What is noticeable is there’s a much better comfort level playing together,” Elko said. “You just talk about communication lines. When you’re familiar and comfortable playing with the guy next to you, it makes it a lot easier to communicate through the difficult concepts and combinations that get thrown at you.

“When you talk about Will Lee, (safety) Bryce Anderson, (safety) Dalton Brooks, Marcus Ratcliffe, Dezz Ricks... That group of kids now has played a lot of football together between fall camp, spring ball, the season.

“You see that. You see certainly an uptick in their familiarity with each other.”

Unlike last season, Elko — who is also in his second year at A&M as head coach — said guys familiar with the defensive system can help instruct inexperienced players.

“When everybody is trying to figure it out together, it’s hard,” Elko said. “When there are some experienced guys who can talk through things with guys who are less experienced, that speeds up the process. I think you’re seeing that happen.”

Knocking on wood

When the health of Rueben Owens II was mentioned, Elko rapped his knuckles on a wooden podium he stood behind.

Owens, once a five-star recruit, was anticipating a “breakout” year in 2024. Instead, the running back missed almost all of last season with a knee injury. He returned to play sparingly in the final two games vs. Texas and USC.

He has looked strong and fully recovered in camp.

Elko praised Owens for playing last season even though he wasn’t at his best. A&M needed help at running back because Le’Veon Moss sustained a season-ending knee injury in early November.

“That’s a real credit to who he is as a kid, how he was raised and how competitive he is,” Elko said.

Elko suggested the lost season has spurred Owens with a sense of urgency to have that “breakout” year this season.

“The end process of it all is you go through the whole rehab, you get back, you get healthy, you get comfortable, and then you get out there and you realize how much you missed it,” Elko said. “Then maybe there’s a little bit of an elevation of urgency because you don’t just expect that everything is always going to be there for you.

“Maybe you’ve seen that a little bit from him through five practices. He understands how much he loves this game, and he loves getting to do it.”

Catching on

Offensive coordinator Collin Klein has been impressed with the changes made by A&M’s receivers.

Will Huffman, TexAgs

Running back Rueben Owens II appears to be fully recovered from a knee injury that cost him most of the 2024 season.

“From just a GPS standpoint, change-of-direction standpoint, in practice, there have been gains,” Klein said. “Some of those guys who have been here and some of the strides they’ve been able to make and the changes they’ve made to their bodies.”

Klein particularly mentioned redshirt freshman Ashton Bethel-Roman and Izaiah Williams for the progress they’ve made.

“Their movement skills, their change-of-direction skills…all of those have improved over the last four-to-six months,” he said.

Klein also raved about the changes in the depth chart — in particular transfers KC Concepcion and Mario Craver.

“When you talk about KC and Mario, I think what sticks out to me is they both love to compete,” he said. “They both love the game of football. They play extremely hard every single snap, whether it’s blocking, whether (the ball) is coming their way or not.

“And they’re team guys. There’s a lot of intangible things they’ve brought to our unit that I’m excited about.”

QB beep, beep, beep, beep

Marcel Reed is entrenched as the starting quarterback.

The backup quarterback is a guess, however.

Redshirt freshman Miles O’Neill and senior transfer Jacob Zeno are the primary competitors to serve as Reed’s backup.

Will Huffman, TexAgs

QB Marcel Reed is fully entrenched in the starting role as the Aggies continue to narrow down a backup.

“I’ve been very pleased with Miles,” Klein said. “I thought he really finished the spring strong. I thought he’s had a really good summer. He’s really attacking it. He’s attacking the preparation. He’s attacking everything in practice, which is really, really impressive for a young player like he is. And he’s got a skill set.”

Klein said O’Neill has a strong arm and is deepening his understanding of the game.

Zeno, a transfer from UAB, has more experience. In 2023, he passed for more than 3,000 yards and threw for 20 touchdowns. He has thrown for 4,948 yards and 32 touchdowns in his career, which began at Baylor.

“He is understanding the offense a little better,” Klein said. “Was really excited to see the strides he’s made.”

Backup quarterback is an important position, especially at A&M. The Aggies have not had a quarterback complete a season since Kellen Mond in 2020.

Do you have an ID?

Football teams relentlessly seek an identity. Texas A&M is no different.

Except that the identity Elko is seeking stretches beyond whether the Aggies are ground-oriented, balanced or big-play threats.

“I think we want the identity of this team to be a team that pours everything they have into each other, into playing this game together the right way for themselves and for Texas A&M University,” Elko said. “I think that’s always kind of been the mantra. That shows up in how hard we play. That shows up in how physical we play. That shows up in the consistency of how we do that every single week.

“That’s kind of been the standard we’ve tried to create within this program from day one. How you instill it is it’s what we live every day. It’s the things we talk about in every team meeting. It’s the things we illustrate on film for the positive and the negative.”

Elko said he and his staff have stressed that message since he first became coach. He also wants the players to understand and fully appreciate the opportunity they have.

“I worded it to them this way in the first team meeting,” Elko said. “I said, ‘One of the biggest challenges is you’re in an age group that, across the board, sees things as challenging and difficult because that’s just what teenagers do.’

“The reality is you’re in the elite one percent of your age group in the world, so there is a certain responsibility that comes with that to put in the work, to take advantage of the blessings and opportunities that have been put upon you.

“I think that’s the mindset we want to have in this program.”

Freshman fearsome foursome?

Freshman defensive end Marco Jones has been turning heads since he arrived in the spring.

Defensive coordinator Jay Bateman said he knew the athletic 6-foot-5, 258-pound product of Dublin, Calif., had great potential when he was recruited.

Jones apparently gets closer to reaching that potential every 24 hours.

“Every day, he gets better,” Bateman said. “Every day, he improves. He’s in a group with some really good players, but I do think the future for him is really, really bright.

"I do think he’s going to play and contribute this year. How much...we’ll see.”

Bateman has also been impressed with true freshmen interior defensive linemen Chace Sims, Landon Rink and DJ Sanders, along with redshirt freshman Dealyn Evans.

None are expected to start ahead of Albert Regis, DJ Hicks and transfer Tyler Onyedim, but Bateman expects them to contribute. Maybe a lot.

“I think that’s going to become a strength of ours,” Bateman said. “I do think Week 3, Week 4, Week 5 — as it starts to get into the season — you’re going to see those young kids play more and more and more as they get more comfortable.”

Internal affairs

Elko opened the press conference by addressing the recent arrest of safety Dalton Brooks for a hit-and-run.

“It’s something we’re aware of,” Elko said. “Issues like that are things we take very serious in our program. We’ll look into it internally. We’ll handle it internally. It’s not something we’ll talk about how we’ll handle it.

“It is obviously something we take very seriously internally inside of our program. We’re on it. We’ll handle it.”

NOTES

• Elko said All-SEC tackle Trey Zuhn III has been getting work at center. That’s to provide versatility in case of injuries to ensure A&M always has its best five linemen on the field.

• Fortunately, Elko said there have been no significant injuries thus far in camp.

• Five-star freshman receiver Jerome Myles is being brought along slowly in camp. He made his first appearance in practice on Monday night. Myles sustained a knee injury in high school. He recovered enough to compete and track & field, but as Elko pointed out, that was straight-line running. He’ll need to make cuts and take hits, so they’re being careful with him.

• Owens and Moss were both named to the Doak Walker Award watch list. The Doak Walker Award is presented to the nation’s premier running back.