Did Mike Elko take a direct shot at Jimbo Fisher with his comments after Texas A&M football's win over LSU?
Texas A&M football is fresh off of a huge win over the LSU Tigers this weekend. In a matchup of undefeated SEC teams, it was the Aggies who emerged in complete control of their own destiny in-conference.
Because of all the buildup, this was maybe the biggest visit weekend the Aggies have had since they hosted Alabama in 2021. Elko and his staff, who have been remarkably organized and effective on the recruiting front, entertained a huge number of priority targets.
Maybe still in recruiting mode, Elko took the podium with this to say—and you may want to listen close for a few key words in here.
Mike Elko following LSU win:
— On3 (@On3sports) October 27, 2024
"This is a real program. It’s not fake. It’s not a politician running this program, talking fast and BSing everybody. This is a real program and for all the recruits out there, this is a real place."
(via @TreyWallace_, @BrentZwerneman)… pic.twitter.com/e691nK4UdV
Look, this could certainly be innocuous. The "politician," "fast-talk," "BS" stuff is the kind of thing you would say in a recruiting pitch against other coaches writ large no matter what.
But it does evoke images and memories of the previous head man for Texas A&M football. There was no shortage of fans who used that kind of terminology to describe Jimbo with regularity once they were out on him.
It's certainly a recruiting pitch that stands out given the last regime, though. And it looks like, with some early returns from a big recruiting weekend, that it's a pitch that may just be working some magic.
Do I think he had Jimbo in mind? No, if I had to say one way or another, I don't think Elko was taking a direct shot at the former head man for the Aggies. But what this does do is help continue to move the Ags away from what the public perception of their program has been since Fisher exited, and towards the new culture that Elko has established.
And that, in my book, is an unmitigated plus.