Texas A&M Aggies:
The Aggies definitely tried their best to hire Mark Stoops, but they ended up bringing in Mike Elko. That might have been their second choice, but I think they’ll be better off with him leading the way. Elko took over a lifeless Duke program and went 16-9 in two seasons. He also helped Duke score a program-making win over Clemson. Elko also knows exactly what it takes to win in College Station, as he was a stellar defensive coordinator for A&M from 2018 to 2021.
Now that Elko has proven he can win at this level, there should be extremely high hopes for this program. Elko delivers on the field in a way that Jimbo Fisher couldn’t. So, if he’s able to have half the success that Fisher did as a recruiter, things will be just fine and A&M will compete in the SEC for a long time. But don’t sleep on the Aggies in Year in 1.
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Offense
Elko is turning to Kansas State offensive coordinator Collin Klein to get this offense going. Klein was in charge of some dynamic offenses in Manhattan, and he should be able to get a lot out of Conner Weigman. The sophomore has an NFL future with his ability to accurately throw the ball to every part of the field, and he’s also good at making plays with his legs. Weigman did suffer a broken foot last season. If his movement is compromised early in the season, the Aggies could slip up somewhere.
Weigman isn’t alone on offense. Running backs Rueben Owens, Le’Veon Moss and Stanford transfer EJ Smith are all capable of making plays out of the backfield, and the Aggies have good playmakers at wideout and tight end. But the reality is that Texas A&M desperately needs better offensive line play. That was a major weakness last year. The Aggies do have three starters back, and transfers Kolinu’u Faaiu and Ar’maj Reed-Adams could help a bunch. Perhaps a new coaching staff can fix things up.
Defense
The Aggies ended up losing a lot of talent from last year’s defense, but they did a good job of patching things together and also have a lot of underclassmen who will be ready to step up. This defensive line could be tremendous in 2024, and Purdue transfer Nic Scourton is going to show out as a pass-rusher in the SEC. Texas A&M also has some good linebackers that will fill the void of Edgerrin Cooper.
The secondary will be the main concern entering the year. Tyreek Chappell and Bryce Anderson are back from last year, and the rest of the starting positions will be filled by transfers or underclassmen. The Aggies gave up a lot of big plays over the top in 2023. Can they stop that in 2024? I think Elko can be trusted to figure it out.
Outlook
This Over is one of my absolute favorites heading into the season. Perhaps I’m a little too high on Elko, but he’s a proven leader and ended up taking over a program with a lot of talent already in place. The Aggies also happen to face an extremely easy schedule. I like their chances of beating Notre Dame in Week 1, and I honestly wouldn’t be shocked if they start the season 7-0. That said, I think 10 wins is a realistic goal for this program. We only need nine.
Pick: Over 8.5 Wins
