Texas A&M coach Mike Elko's third season at the helm has reached disastrous levels after the Aggies' blowout road loss to Missouri, falling 27-6 after leading 3-0 in the first quarter, as quarterback Marcel Reed has regressed during his second full starting season, throwing two more interceptions and just 189 yards in another poor performance, while the Aggies couldn't score a touchdown for the second time in SEC play.
Elko's post-game comments about TexAgs' infamous message board and co-owner Billy Liucci were overblown and led to a formal apology at Monday's press conference, which, hopefully, ends a tabloid-like controversy that distracts from the core issues affecting the Aggies this season.
Mike Elko is one of the smartest coaches in the country
and knows whatever he and his staff have been doing over the last six weeks isn't working, saying "everything has to be on the table" if he wants to make progress over the final six regular-season games.
While Elko stated during his post-game comments that current backup quarterback Brady Hart isn't expected to see much playing time, which, honestly, makes little to no sense given Marcel Reed's consistent struggles, if everything is truly on the table, I expect Hart and even freshman quarterback Helaman Casuga to see the field if this Saturday's game vs. The Citadel gets out of hand after halftime.
"Everything has to be on the table. We're at that point, for sure."
"It's hard to make revolutionary changes in our current situation because you have to allow the kids opportunities to have success, and massive shifts are going to create execution issues."
After officially handing off his defensive play-calling duties to defensive coordinator Lyle Hemphill, Elko can now focus on his CEO role, evaluating every position group and the changes that could, and should, be made, likely including younger players seeing the field.
"You have to do what is right on Saturday. In some instances, that has been young guys getting opportunities."
"There are some young freshmen that are earning their opportunities to play."
We will see on Saturday against The Citadel, and especially on the road in Week 8 against Alabama, whether Elko makes wholesale changes to the offensive and defensive line lineups, and whether those changes lead to stark improvement.
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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: If 'everything' is on the table, is a QB change coming for Texas A&M?
