Texas A&M just made a transfer portal addition that, while it may go a little bit under the radar nationally, will no doubt resound throughout Aggieland in a big way. The Aggies went up into Big Ten country and snagged one of the nation's best kickers in David Olano, fending off the Miami Hurricanes in the process.
🥾 🏈
— TexAgs Recruiting (@TA_Recruiting) January 5, 2026
Welcome to Aggieland, @DavidOlano_ 👍 pic.twitter.com/Qro3RPTqGJ
Texas A&M's kicking situation this season with Randy Bond and Jared Zirkel was, to put it mildly, pretty questionable in big moments. Missed kicks against both Texas and Miami ended up playing a big role in those losses, and there didn't seem to be a good answer on the roster.
Fans need not have worried, as it turns out— Mike Elko was clearly aware of his team's issues and determined to address them. The word had been that the Aggies were in on Olano ever since he entered his name in the portal, and that has now come to fruition.
Texas A&M adds elite kicker David Olano via transfer portal over Miami
Olano went 20/23 on his kicks this year and has a career long of 50. For his career, he is 37/43, and has only ever missed two kicks from under 40 yards out. From 40+, he is 12/16, which is really solid for a college kicker.
Olano is also excellent as an extra point kicker, having only ever missed one in his career and going perfect on such kicks this past year. He is coming off of a performance in the Music City Bowl where he went 3-3 against the Tennessee Volunteers, including a walk-off field goal to win the game, showing he can perform in high-pressure moments.
This was a much-needed addition by the Aggies, as have been all of their portal adds so far. Mike Elko is clearly intent on picking up quality players at positions of need and has had these in the works for some time. I'm sure this won't be the last such addition we see, as the Aggies are scorching hot right now.