Elko's culture helping Texas A&M football avoid new epidemic in college football

Mike Elko continues to prove himself as culture-builder, helping Texas A&M football avoid midseason redshirt pitfall

MIke Elko's transformation of Texas A&M football's culture has been evident to anyone paying attention to the program. The Aggies have gone from a talented yet underachieving team to one that appears mentally focused and physically dominant.

The on-field results have certainly testified to this fact. But even things like small clips from The Pulse, where Elko gives props in the locker room to guys who step up like BJ Mayes or Marcel Reed, show the kind of culture the Aggie head man is building in College Station.

At the same time as the Aggies have flipped the locker room from a minus to a plus in the culture department, college football fans have begun to see a concerning trend around the sport. Players, such as UNLV's Matthew Sluka, have begun to announce midseason redshirts, stepping away from the team with intentions of entering the portal once it opens.

Big names like Bear Alexander have done the same. Recently, an Ole Miss DB - Key Lawrence - made the same announcement.

Yet, as I say with the biggest knock on wood possible, we have seen no such result from anyone in the ranks of the Aggies. No A&M player has announced that he will be portal-bound at the end of the season.

Now, that doesn't mean there won't be portal losses, but there's something to be said for a culture strong enough that even the guys who came in thinking they'll make the team, who then find out that they will be in a backup role, still sticking around to contribute. I think back to what Elko said just yesterday during his presser about this group's togetherness.

This is really such a night and day difference from the way things used to be under the previous regime. Whereas before, we'd have fans ridden with anxiety, wondering which player would be the first to announce his departure, Elko has brought a spirit of confidence and steady-handedness to the team.