Report day for Texas A&M is officially here, which means third-year head coach Mike Elko took the podium for media availability to preview fall camp and the upcoming campaign.
Last season, Elko led the Aggies to their first 11-0 start since 1992 and earned a spot in the College Football Playoff, ultimately falling to Miami at Kyle Field in the first round. Texas A&M tied a program record with 10 players selected in the 2026 NFL Draft, creating some holes in the roster that needed to be addressed during the offseason.
Elko hauled in the No. 3 transfer portal class and finished No. 8 in this year's recruiting cycle, bringing in a slew of talented pieces to replace lost production. While many questions remain, especially in the trenches, Texas A&M
has the roster and coaching staff to achieve great success again in 2026.
Here is everything Elko said in his preview for the start of fall camp during Tuesday's media availability:
Elko on the start of fall camp and preparations for the upcoming season
"We're finally here. Excited to get report day underway today and get through some of the organizational stuff today," Elko said. "Excited for this team and for the work they put in this summer. Now we have to figure out who we are."
Elko's response to the court injunctions and the status of college sports
"I thought it was a tremendous, symbolic nature of where we are as a sport right now that as we were getting ready to report, we changed the roster construction rules, but we didn't really know that we changed them so we had to rechange them," Elko said. "I thought it was tremendously indicitive of how this sport is being governed right now."
Elko drops big news about the health of the team, including LB Daymion Sanford
"I don't think we'll have anybody miss (the first day of camp)," Elko said about the team's overall health.
"There are some markers and steps he has to go through. He's on course to be (ready for the season opener)," Elko said about Sanford.
Elko on roster management and competition
"I'm still a firm believer that when you have 18-21 year olds, competition is better. The desire to have to get up every day and fight to earn things is what will ultimately create the development that you need," Elko said. "You still want to create that competitive mindset in these young kids."
Elko speaks on the importance of retaining offensive line coach Adam Cushing with a new group of offensive linemen
"I have so much confidence in Adam going into year five together. There's a comfort in his coaching demeanor, how he develops guys, what he instills in them, the mentality that our o-line plays with," Elko said. "I believe he's one of the best offensive line coaches in the country. We're certainly glad he's on our side and he'll play a big role in getting the cohesiveness of that group where it needs to be by the time we kick off this year."
Elko on veteran center Mark Nabou Jr.
"He's old, but he hasn't played a lot, so there's a lot of room for growth still coming off of last year," Elko said. "Last year was the first year he went start to finish as a starter. He learned a lot about playing 12 SEC football games, what that means mentally, what that means physically and I think he's taken that natural development step that you would like to see a returning starter at center take. We've gottena really, really good version of Mark and having an established, experience center goes a long way when you're putting an offensive line together."
Elko talks about the depth of the team and battles for starting jobs at some positions
"We're excited about the fact that I don't know who some of the starters are going into fall camp," Elko said. "There's a lot of competition across the board, and ultimately, that elevates everything in your program."
Elko discusses the talent in Texas A&M's secondary in 2026
"We're going into a season with an SEC-level secondary. There have been times in the past where that's not exactly where we were," Elko said. "When you look at the pieces we have back there, you feel really good about rotating and feel really good about holding up through 12 games."
Elko speaks about the biggest challenge the program has faced
"This program has had a really hard time doubling down on success. That's our challenge," Elko said.
Elko on the progress he's seen from the team this summer
"What you do in the summer is critical. We talk about the offseason being a four-quarter offseason… Fall camp is quarter four," Elko said. "Tommy (Moffitt) does a phenomenal job of establishing culture… The strides and development, you will be impressed with what this team looks like."
Elko discusses which players will be involved in returning punts in 2026
"Mario (Craver) is going to be involved in that. Terry (Bussey) will be involved in that. Isaiah Horton will have some context in that conversation as well," Elko said.
Elko on Alabama transfer wide receiver Isaiah Horton
"When you get to that stage of your career, it's the fine-tuned details and technical aspects of route-running that we're working on," Elko said. "It's milliseconds on timing and being in the right window and being where the quarterback's eyes are."
Elko on tight end Micah Riley
"I'm excited. I'm healthy for the first time in a while. I had shoulder surgery this offseason," Elko said. "We're all healthy. We're ready to go. We're excited for camp."
Elko discusses the talent and chemistry of Texas A&M's tight end room
"We've meshed really, really well," Elko said. "We've spent all offseason together, especially the transfer guys."
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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: 'We're finally here': Texas A&M HC Mike Elko previews fall camp
