No other school will be more represented at the NFL Combine this season than Texas A&M, but where did most of those players come from to begin with?
It was a rough 2024 season on offense, and on defense, adjustments were rightfully made thanks to the addition of Lyle Hemphill. On offense, Marcel Reed was given some valuable weapons to work with, such as four offensive linemen who will likely hear their names called, but also KC Concepcion and Nate Boerkircher, who were new faces to the Aggies in 2025.
That's right. More of Elko's future NFL faces aren't homegrown Aggies. As TexAgs Executive Editor Billy Liucci puts it, the portal is where the Aggies thrive the most.
The NFL Combine representation shows Mike Elko deserves an A+ in the portal
Elko's Aggies could have as many as seven portal additions drafted in April.
— Billy Liucci (@billyliucci) February 23, 2026
In today's college football, portal evaluation is every bit as important as player development. https://t.co/QvViDgUxu9
This hits the nail on the head right here. Portal development is now becoming, if not already, more important than selecting homegrown talent.
Even Nate Boerkircher, who might be one of the last guys selected or even go undrafted, played a key piece for the Aggies all season long. The hero of the Notre Dame game was trending after an incredible catch during a practice in the Senior Bowl. The Aggies won with him emerging as a TE favorite, and it was another portal win for Elko.
Future portal players may be a one-and-done to the NFL, like Craver, Concepcion and Boerkircher, but without their reps from an emerging program like Texas A&M, we may not be talking about those guys today. Concepcion was always a talented player, but the reps he got with Reed meant a lot more.
Cashius Howell, Ar'Maj Reed-Adams, Scooby Williams, Will Lee III and Tyler Onyedim are other transfers who Elko saw fit perfectly with what A&M was trying to build. Elko is going to continue to win in the portal in the future, but this is just a short glimpse for the rest of college football to watch out for.