Fans of the Texas A&M Aggies got a glimpse of what their 2025 season could be after an explosive second half. The Aggies met a challenge in the UTSA Roadunners early in the second half and responded about as best as they could've.
Even though the Aggies won 42-24, head coach Mike Elko talked about some of the obvious adjustments that his team needs to make. The Aggies' defense gave up a 75-yard touchdown run to Robert Henry Jr., and it almost looked like the Aggies last year when they couldn't stop Harold Fannin Jr.
Elko used his opening statement to talk about how his defense has to stop the run, and considering Henry Jr. picked up 177 rushing yards on 16 carries, it's safe to say the Aggies' defense didn't do enough.
Mike Elko on what he liked and didn't like defensively
"Defensively, I thought we did a much better job defending the pass. I thought we did a really good job on some of the things we were doing coverage wise. Obviously, we had some of the missed fits show up again and create some explosive runs, which obviously are things that need to get fixed and need to get cleaned up."
Mike Elko on giving up the long touchdown run to Henry Jr.
"We had a kid run the wrong defense on the first play of the second half. He looked at the wrong signal, we ran the wrong defense. It was his first play of the season, and that's going to cause problems."
Mike Elko on the front seven against UTSA
"I would just say it felt choppy. I felt like we did some good things, I think we put ourselves in position to make some plays, but obviously, we can't allow rushing yards like that. You have to put more pressure on the quarterback."
Mike Elko on Dezz Ricks' progression
"Good. It's hard to see play in and play out, obviously, I thought he made a nice play on the one third down, and he had a really good pass break up where (UTSA) tried to test him a couple of times, and I thought he was tight in coverage."