Head coach Mike Elko previews the Aggies’ 2024 campaign at the Dallas A&M Club

“We are going to operate is if this is your football program. You have put in your time, your sweat, your tears. We are going to be the stewards of your football program and your university. That is an honor we take very seriously.”

“Our ceiling is limitless. What we’re capable of is limitless. What we have to do is roll up our sleeves and get to work.”

“We want to make you proud of this football program.”

“One of the areas that we have to really improve is our overall player development. If you look at the number of draft picks that we’ve had from our program recently, it’s not up to par with our competition.”

“We are working. We are training at a really high level. Our kids are feeling the benefits of that. We’ve had more kids come in for voluntary workouts on Saturdays than we’ve had at times for mandatory workouts in the past.”

“We had a great spring. I thought we worked really hard and started to make the strides and improvements toward where we wanted to go.” “We’ve got 100 days where we can work every day to get 100 days better to give us the best chance to Beat The Hell Outta everyone. … This summer is going to be huge.”

“Conner (Weigman’s) health will be fine.” “We have no question about where he will be going into the summer. We were really fortunate to hang on to Marcel Reed and Jaylen Henderson… It’s rare to have three quarterbacks that have started games for us, and I think that’s a testament to the culture that we are building.”

“I’m really happy with some of the things we saw in the spring game from Noah Thomas, and he has a chance to be a really elite player for us.”

“We’ll line up four NFL defensive linemen when we go out to start a game, and that’s always a good spot to be.”

Elko said Nic Scourton, Shemar Stewart and Shemar Turner all have “elite talent,” and DJ Hicks is “really coming into his own.”

“The secondary is probably the area where we improved the most with what we were able to add in the transfer portal and the development of some of the kids that were already in our program.”

“I think we have an opportunity to really go out and compete, but expectations are going to depend on how the next four months go. We have to go out and handle this summer the right way.”

“I’m really happy with the spring Tyler White had. He did a really good job of tightening down his form and technique… I thought he clearly established himself.”

“Randy Bond had a much more consistent spring.”

“My coaching style. What you can get from me is a guy who has a passion for football, a guy who studied the game for a long time… But also a guy that understands what the modern version of football looks like.”

“I’ve only been a head coach in the NIL era. That’s all I know… I think I have a unique skill set to help connect with these kids and help them understand what it takes to be great.”

“Culture wins. Talented culture wins championships. Any kid that tries to put themselves above Texas A&M won’t like the results.”

“It’s not lost on me what that game means to Aggies. It’s not lost on me what that game means to our program… I think I need to win a few games before we get to that one, or else you guys won’t be too happy with me.”

“Let’s start with this: Sixty-seven percent of the first three rounds of this NFL Draft never transferred.” “We have to stop focusing on the small handful of kids that decide Texas A&M isn’t the right place for them. That’s fine. Best of luck to you.”

“We’re still 100 percent on Coach’s Night asking about young Terry (Bussey).”

“Terry will play a huge role for this program, and he’s going to be a great Aggie, but let’s understand that he’s still a young man who hasn’t stepped foot on campus us.”

“For people following recruiting, I think you’re seeing speed get addressed in this recruiting class at a really high level without getting into specifics.”

“I mentioned Tre Watson. I think he’s a draft pick. I think he has a chance to be a really talented tight end in our program.”

“We’re getting close. We’re going to do something a little bit different and allow the team to vote on that.”

“That’s a very special number, and there’s a lot of character that goes into who wears the No. 12.”

“I love Riley (Leonard). It’s one of the really unique parts of the game nowadays. One of the main reasons I’m standing here as your head football coach is because of Riley.” “To match the two of us up on opening night takes a little bit of work from the football gods. … We’re going to do everything we can to beat each other up on opening night.”

“Everybody in the country will be watching Aggie football on that particular night, so us putting our best foot forward is really critical.”

“We’re going to put in a lot of work to get the result we want.”