Everything HC Mike Elko had to say ahead of Texas A&M's road test vs. Mississippi State
Texas A&M (5-1, 3-0 SEC) is coming off the first of two bye weeks this season just a week after defeating Missouri 41-10, as the Aggies are nearly 100% healthy going into Saturday's Week 8 road test vs. Mississippi State, a team that the program has had trouble defeating consistently.
In Week 7, several SEC teams looked more average than good, as Alabama and Tennessee nearly fell for the second consecutive weekend. At the same time, Ole Miss dropped its second game on the road to LSU in overtime, damaging their college football playoff odds. Giant slayer Vanderbilt went on the road, beating Kentucky, and now sits at 4-2 and 2-1 in SEC play, a record none of us predicted for the Commodores at this point.
With the Aggie's focus completely shifting to Mississippi State, Elko, alongside starting quarterback Conner Weigman and linebacker Taurean York, spoke to the media on Monday afternoon. Here's what Elko had to say before facing the Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon.
MIke Elko on the health of the roster after the bye week
"We got healthy. We're in a really good spot from a health standpoint. We're excited for the next phase of the season."
Elko on the challenge Mississippi State presents based on history alone
"Full expectation is we're going to have our hands full going into Starkville. We always do. We're not very good going down to Starkville as a program."
Elko on the Aggies' developing championship mindset
"We talk about championship mindset, whether it's success or failure. It's about how you go about your day-to-day when you're trying to become a champion."
"It's now a challenge coming out of Missouri. As we building this program to where we want it to be, it's about that mindset."
Elko is smartly using past matchups to prevent any slow starts this weekend
"We just need to look at ourselves. We've lost to every single team on our schedule over the last two years."
"This group of kids, the last time they went down to Starkville, it wasn't pretty. We don't need to look at other people. We just need to look at our own history."
Elko on what to expect environment-wise in Starkville
"What makes it a hard place to play is they're always really talented, and they play well at home. Their fans, like everywhere in the SEC, take pride in protecting their house. ... It's going to be a really, really difficult place to play on Saturday."
Elko on the ongoing discussion regarding "fake" injuries
"Do we condone faking injury? No. ... At times, it was a kid having to stop the game because there was no other way to stop the game, not necessarily because we were giving ourselves an advantage."
Elko on facing Bulldogs freshman QB Michael Van Buren
"He has a really big arm. He showed that. Their ability to stretch the field is probably the most impressive thing."
"This explosive passing game is really, really scary."
Elko on the importance of winning the turnover battle
"It's really important in our program, and our kids are starting to understand the value of protecting the football and attacking the football."
Elko on S&C Tommy Moffitt's results so far
"We're continuing to get stronger throughout the season."
"That's a testament to Coach (Tommy) Moffitt and how they train in the weight room, but it's also a product of how we practice. ... How the players manage themselves and their days off, that plays a role."
Elko on the team's current mindset after six games
"To this point, our kids feel really good about where we're at."
Did Mike Elko watch football during the bye week?
"I can't tell you I watched it like an avid fan. I watched it like a half-interested guy on his day off."
Elko on how he utilizes film
"I've always tried to watch TV copies because it gives you rhythm and flow."
"You get the feel for some of that stuff, but it's hard when you get used to watching the coach's tape."
Elko on how the Aggies have build chemistry throughout the season
"It's part of this new era of college football where you have to go out of your way to intentionally bring the team together."
"How you blend everybody together and get those guys to play together is really, really important, and we've done a lot to build that chemistry."
Elko on the "culture of togetherness" the Aggies live by
"The culture in terms of togetherness and trying to do things the right way and for each other, I'm really proud of our guys for how they've done that."
"These kids haven't done that. We look at it differently. ... They've bought into everything we believe a football program should be about."
This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Everything HC Mike Elko had to say ahead of Texas A&M's road test vs. Mississippi State
