With fall camp officially starting today, Texas A&M football fans know that the season is just around the corner— and the excitement is palpable. As is normally the case, Mike Elko opened fall camp with some media availability, meeting with the assembled press to discuss his team for this year and the outlook moving forward.
He had a typically short opening statement, in which the most important thing that he mentioned was the dearth of injuries that the team has coming into fall camp. After hearing a lot over the last few days about an injury to DJ Lagway that has sidelined him to start Florida's camp, it's good to hear that the Aggies are at full strength.
His fingers are crossed, though, that the injury luck will continue. When asked about Le'Veon Moss and Rueben Owens missing time last year, Elko coyly mentioned that a "good run of luck" on the injury front would be welcome at Texas A&M, as they of course have been severely affected by injuries in each of the past five years.
Mike Elko addresses player development, team expectations, injuries at opening fall camp presser
One thing that will be sure to have Aggie fans smiling is the development of Aggie players over the offseason. Elko had a few specific names that he keyed in on when asked about who made the greatest strides over the summer.
Elko singles out Rylan Kennedy, Cashius Howell, Marcus Ratcliffe, & TK Norman (who put on 20 LBs) as players who made huge strength strides.
— Gig Em Gazette (@GigEmGazette) July 29, 2025
He also said “we were not real good” on a strength and conditioning level when he arrived, but feels that they’re in a better place now.
It's encouraging to hear about Tommy Moffitt's effect on this team beginning to compound— I think most Aggie fans that watched last season would agree that it's needed. As he also mentioned, they've taken a very detailed and scientific approach to conditioning that should fire up fans as well.
Marcel Reed has been one of the big question marks on this front, as his dynamic running ability compounds the risk of injury to his slighter frame. Elko mentioned that Reed is "close" to the weight he needs to be at, however.
The Aggie head man was asked directly about how KC Concepcion, the banner addition to this locker room through the portal, has panned out, and he was pretty effusive about the former member of the NC State Wolfpack:
Elko on KC Concepcion: “What an unbelievable playmaker. When we went up against him as a freshman [at Duke], he was really doing it all… he’s absolutely lived up to [those expectations].”
— Gig Em Gazette (@GigEmGazette) July 29, 2025
Said he’s ready to have “a really big year.”
Though Elko clearly has big internal expectations for Concepcion, he also showed he couldn't care less about outward expectations. One reporter asked if Elko liked that the team was being "slept on" this year, given their overall under-the-radar profile in the preseason, and Elko was ambivalent.
"Honestly, I don't care," he remarked bluntly. "If the expectations are there, we have to go out and perform. If we're under the radar, we have to go out and perform," he said, adding that he "know[s] what this team is capable of."
I think that's exactly the attitude you want your coach and team to have. There's a lot of internal motivation from the way last year ended, and they can feed on that to have a huge year in 2025.