Texas A&M Aggies Head Coach Shares What It Was Like Returning to College Station

When it came time for the Texas A&M Aggies to hire a new head coach, they decided on someone who has spent a fairly high amount of time in College Station already.

Mike Elko was the defensive coordinator of Jimbo Fisher for four seasons, and has not been gone for very long after taking the head job at Duke prior to the 2022 season and returning after just two years away from Aggieland.

Because of that fact, Elko already had a high familiarity with a large portion of the roster considering that he recruited them himself. During SEC Media Days in Dallas, Elko said this caused a unique dynamic when he returned to the locker room at Texas A&M.

"When I come back to Texas A&M, like I know all these guys. And so I walked into the first team meeting and I got about 50 kids come up to me and give me a hug," Elko said on the set of the SEC Network. "Not that you were with them long enough to have these long established relationships, but you have some familiarity with all of these guys. So for me, it's been a little different of an experience because it's like 'OK, I remember you from recruiting, now let's see what you've become and figure out how we can enhance your game a little bit.' It's the first time I've ever come back to a school in my career and to do it only two years later, you really do have such familiarity with who these guys are. It's just now neat to get into a room and get to coach a lot of them."

Elko having experience and knowledge of the players in the locker room will only serve to help the team as he tries to get the maximum amount of potential out of each of his guys and improve every player on his roster. 

It's a head start that very few coaches have the opportunity to get. What Elko does with it will be fascinating to see.