<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4G2y7n_0w2LQDmC00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4G2y7n_0w2LQDmC00" width="1200" height="600" >HOUSTON, Texas (KBTX) - When Texas A&amp;M head coach Mike Elko opened the summer talking season, he told the Brazos County A&amp;M Club that the 2025 edition of the coaches night event would be a party if his A&amp;M football record remained undefeated at that point. At the midway point in the season, he isn’t far off that mark despite tallying a season-opening loss. Wednesday, speaking in front of local businessmen in the Bayou City Events Center for a Houston Touchdown Club luncheon, Elko said the Aggie’s near instant success comes from the culture he and his staff has been able to build. It’s not unlike the process those same suited men have experienced creating success in the business world. “It’s not always just talent,” Elko said. “Talent is great. It’s a needed component. But if talent’s not working together with a common goal and a common purpose, it’s not going to achieve very much. And that’s, like, tried and true throughout the history of time, pretty much every endeavor and so it becomes the most important thing.” To Elko, the quarterback room was one of the first indicators of success in building the program. There are programs around the country that enter a season without a single quarterback that has game experience at the college level. The Aggies were able to retain three in Conner Weigman, Marcel Reed and Jaylen Henderson. This season, Reed has been called upon to carry the Aggies through three consecutive wins, before handing the job back over to Weigman, when he fully recovered from a throwing-arm injury. The Aggies put together a complete offensive performance in a 41-10 win over Missouri in Weigman’s return game. Both quarterbacks have celebrated each other’s victories, Elko emphasized. “You have to build a program that kids want to be a part of,” shared Elko. “You’ve got to build a culture. You’ve got to build a family. You’ve got to build a brotherhood inside the whole building the kids want to be a part of and, when we do that, you’ve got a better chance of keeping everyone on your roster.”One attendee mentioned, through his previous conversations, that he believed the Aggies’ win over then No. 9 Missouri was one of the most complete games A&amp;M has put together in a long time. Quantifiably, it was the Aggies first win over a ranked opponent since the final game of the 2022 season over LSU. It also harkened back to the 2021 victory over No. 1 Alabama in Kyle Field as a part of a four-game conference winning streak, the most A&amp;M has put together in the SEC since. The excitement of the moment had some in attendance already licking their chops for the final game of the season, the long-awaited return of the Lone Star Showdown with Texas. If current trends continue, the Aggies (5-1, 3-0 in SEC) and Longhorns (5-0, 1-0 in SEC) could square off in Kyle Field with a berth in the SEC title game or the College Football Playoff on the line. Though Elko said he’s been asked about the game approximately 5,000 times, he pumped the breaks with a joke. One attendee asked if the Aggies were doing anything differently to prepare for “one of the most anticipated games in college football.” “I knew Mississippi State was a big game,” Elko responded. “Are you suggesting Mississippi State is one of the biggest games in all of college football?”A&amp;M travels to Starkville, Miss. next week as they continue their trek through the SEC, coming off an open week. This Mississippi State team has struggled to a 1-4 record, with an early-season loss to Toledo as a part of their resume. But the Bulldogs have been a thorn in the Aggies’ side in years past. Mississippi State was a key loss early in that 2021 season where the Aggies showed potential at times. In 2016, A&amp;M’s loss in Starkville snapped a promising 8-1 start and ranking in the College Football Playoff top 10, due in part to an injury to starting quarterback Trevor Knight. Similarly, it was also an AC joint sprain, which Weigman suffered this season. Moving beyond the open week and a midway point in the season, Elko will continue to preach a narrow focus to his team that is the foundation of the culture he has built. “I think in a season, it’s really important that you focus on what’s in front of you,” added Elko. “I think you have to focus on the things to make sure [the Texas game] means what we all want it to mean. More than anything, we want to make sure that game has meaning beyond just that game.”</div></body>

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Culture defines the first half of Texas A&M's football season

HOUSTON, Texas (KBTX) - When Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko opened the summer talking season, he told the Brazos County A&M Club that the 2025 edition of the coaches night event would be a party if his A&M football record remained undefeated at that point. At the midway point...

Culture defines the first half of Texas A&M's football season

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