COLLEGE STATION, Texas — As Mike Elko settles in at Texas A&M, he is aware of the entire untapped potential. He noticed the promise because the Aggies’ defensive coordinator on an Orange Bowl-winning workforce in 2020, and he has seen up shut why unlocking that full potential stays tantalizing.
Not solely has Texas A&M by no means reached the School Soccer Playoff, it has not received a convention title since 1998. It has failed to succeed in the SEC championship recreation since becoming a member of the convention in 2012.
Within the wake of Elko’s outstanding revival of Duke in his two seasons there (17-9 after the workforce went 5-18 within the two years earlier than his arrival), this query looms over School Station: Can Elko’s expertise with each the facility and the issues of Texas A&M assist unlock the potential?
He sat down with ESPN final month to debate his tenure to this point.
ESPN: What have the primary few months been like?
Elko: A whirlwind of epic proportion. I do not know that you could describe taking a job on the day that the portal window opens, two weeks earlier than signing day with no employees, proper? Attempting to place all of that collectively right into a puzzle, proper? So yeah, I imply, it is quite a bit, and you have to be actually affected person and put it collectively the way in which you imagine in and get it going the place you need it to go.
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ESPN: In the event you look again on the final two coaches at Texas A&M, there is a case that neither constructed a strong basis. There have been bursts of momentum however not plenty of consistency. What’s it going to take to construct a basis right here and go from there?
Elko: I believe it begins with good folks. That is the place each foundational program begins, is getting the fitting folks, and so it begins with the fitting folks on this flooring of teaching. It begins with the fitting folks on this constructing from a assist employees, analytical position from the folks in your power and the conditioning division, after which you have to construct tradition inside your locker room. I believe that is a basis that lots of people lose sight of, proper? This place has large facility basis, however inside that, you continue to should construct a foundational core of who your program goes to be about.
ESPN: What classes do you’re taking out of your final stint right here?
Elko: The distinctive spot that I’ve sitting right here for 4 years [as defensive coordinator] is I do know the entire explanation why this place can win a nationwide championship, after which I most likely know among the explanation why we failed, which I believe provides me a novel perspective coming in. I are available in with much more information of what Texas A&M is all about. That may solely assist, and I simply suppose we have to be clever about how we go about constructing this place as a result of it is a spot the place it has excessive expectations and it’s important to win now for certain, however you have to nonetheless deal with constructing it in a method that means that you can maintain the success that you’ve got for lengthy intervals of time.
ESPN: We’re a good distance from kickoff, however what can we anticipate from Texas A&M this yr?
Elko: I believe you are going to see a workforce that is keen to play for one another and play for this college. I believe you are going to see a workforce that performs with an terrible lot of grit and toughness. I believe these have been what you have seen from any protection that I’ve coached within the final two years at Duke. It is actually what you noticed, and I believe we’ll go to work to make that the product, and I believe our followers are going to like popping out and supporting this workforce and the way they conduct themselves and the way they go about taking part in recreation.
ESPN: How a lot did you study in these two years at Duke? You may have been at plenty of locations, clearly, and plenty of several types of locations, however there’s nothing like being within the chair.
Elko: You simply learn to be the CEO of the soccer program. You are able to do all of the preparation you need, till you get within the chair and you’re feeling what it is actually wish to have all the things across the program concerned within the decision-makings. It’s a must to take a part of understanding that you just’re chargeable for all the things from overseeing ticket gross sales to all the things. You bought to have your hand in each piece of this system. You may’t quantify that if you’re a defensive coordinator. And so I believe simply getting an understanding of what all of it appears like, the right way to put all of it collectively. We actually had plenty of success at Duke, however we actually look again at two years and say there’s plenty of areas we may have performed it higher and we may have fastened some issues or performed some issues totally different.
ESPN: You talked slightly bit about among the intangibles of what you need in your id. What about on the sphere? You may have a longtime quarterback in Conner Weigman, which is an enormous piece of that complete factor.
Elko: So Conner’s distinctive, so I really recruited the Cypress (Texas) space, which is the place Conner comes from. After which clearly all people is aware of Conner was an outstanding baseball participant from out of highschool, and he was all the time in the identical group as my son [who plays at Richmond]. And because the years went on, Michael really sort of performed with him a few occasions in direction of the top of the profession, however it was simply all the time a reputation. He all the time knew Conner. Conner was a child that sort of was that large fish in Texas on the baseball area and on the soccer area. So it is come full circle to get an opportunity to educate him for lastly a yr or two.
ESPN: One in all your large will get is Collin Klein as offensive coordinator. Clearly he and Conner are going to be linked collectively on the hip this subsequent yr. Once more, it’s extremely early, however what’s that been like to this point?
Elko: I believe first, it is having Collin Klein, who is likely one of the brightest younger minds in all of faculty soccer proper now, and positively a man that performed the place in an especially excessive degree and did it from a toughness standpoint at an especially excessive degree. And I believe all of that instructions a sure degree of respect. And so that you introduced Collin because the OC and swiftly Conner’s up right here 12 hours later and he desires to speak to him. And so that you see these guys beginning to meet and formulate these relationships. And we even have two different quarterbacks, Jaylen Henderson and Marcel Reed, who’re additionally very proficient and we began seeing these guys come round. And in order that [quarterback] room means all the things, proper? All people is aware of this, from NFL to school soccer. Your potential to develop and play at a excessive degree at quarterback is what helps win and lose soccer video games. I believe that is entering into a extremely good route.
ESPN: So much has been made about who has left this offseason. However one factor that was clear within the recruitment of plenty of these guys are the assets which are right here. Stroll me by way of slightly little bit of what you suppose is offered right here so that you can probably construct an elite SEC roster.
Elko: I believe you have a look at a spot that is spent virtually a billion {dollars} in amenities renovations within the final 10 years. I believe you have a look at a spot that sits in probably the most talent-rich state in the complete nation, sort of proper in between two of probably the most talent-producing cities in the complete nation in Dallas and Houston. So I believe you’ve gotten all the things that you may ever need and have to construct a championship-level program. I believe we simply, I advised this to our workforce once I met with them the primary time, we all know what we’re able to, however we additionally obtained to know the place we’re and that there is plenty of work to get from the place we’re to the place we’re able to being.
ESPN: That is acquainted territory for the Elko crew. The place did you all go to eat when everybody got here again?
Elko: First place we went to eat was the Stroll-On’s. We sort of sneaked right into a again nook of Stroll-On’s and yeah, had a extremely good meal.
ESPN: Lot of new-coach optimism right here. What can this place turn into?
Elko: I believe within the modern-day of faculty soccer, this is likely one of the locations that has a chance to be on the prime of the sport, and there is not many locations which have the entire basis and have not performed it but. And so I believe to a point there’s locations uniquely particular and that any individual’s going get in right here, some group of gamers, some group of coaches, and do that proper, actually for the primary time within the fashionable period of faculty soccer. I am excited to be a part of that for certain. And I believe there’s going to be lots of people that purchase into that story.
ESPN: Lot of oldsters shall be paying consideration straight away with Notre Dame coming because the opener.
Elko: Clearly, the entire ironies that come into that. Each from my time at Notre Dame, and clearly there is a quarterback over there that I am pretty aware of. [Former Duke QB Riley Leonard transferred to Notre Dame this offseason.] However I believe you come again to a spot like this for these varieties of alternatives and people varieties of levels, and that’d clearly be an ideal opening recreation for us and positively a problem we stay up for.
