The head man for Texas A&M football met with the media following the finalization of the last three members of the 2024 recruiting class. You can watch the presser at this link or below.
Here’s a few key things that the head coach for Texas A&M football touched on.
What Mike Elko Said About Texas A&M Football At His Signing Day Presser
He opened by giving an overview of the final additions to the 2024 class: Ashton Bethel-Roman, Robert Bourdon, and five-star Terry Bussey. He raved about all three, and mentioned in passing that Bussey would be “coming in as a cornerback.” This answered the question that many had about the role that the versatile five-star would play once he arrived in College Station.
Elko also took this opportunity to speak about Tristan Jernigan, as the previous presser was held prior to Jernigan’s signing. He closed his opening statement by thanking Derek Miller, the current GM in Aggieland, speaking about how important that role is, as well as other recruiting support staff.
The questions came flowing in about Bussey, given his stature as a recruit, but Elko—while conveying the excitement around the program to land a player of his caliber, as well as the skill level that Terry possesses—was sure to mention that fans shouldn’t place too much pressure on the young man. In fact, Elko mentioned that he had promised Bussey that he would mention this, which I think speaks to the character of both.
One reporter asked Elko about how he felt about the roster given where it was previously. The head man for the Aggies remarked, perhaps with a bit of understatement, that when he got into his office around the new year and looked at the depth chart, that there were “a lot of holes.” The job he and his staff have done to fill those holes with high levels of talent has been extremely impressive, and he seemed quite confident in the guys that he had been able to bring in.
He received a couple of questions about the aforementioned Derek Miller as well, as the GM position is a new one in the Texas A&M football program. Elko mentioned that he met Miller when the latter was a student volunteer at BGSU, where Elko was the DC at the time. That connection, and how impressive Miller was even in that role, in addition to the job he has done at other stops, made him an easy first call for Elko when he went to Duke, and then again when he came to A&M.
A final note of interest came when Elko was asked about Tommy Moffitt. This was perhaps where the head man for Texas A&M football sounded the most pleased, raving about the high level at which the staff was operating in that room. He mentioned that, for not having had a lot of background together, the S&C staff was operating seamlessly.
I’d recommend giving the whole conference a watch, if you can. He dives deeper into some of the other signees, answers questions about the portal, and more. With the 2024 cycle now officially in the books, the next step is spring football.