Texas A&M football has come a long way in many facets since Mike Elko took over as the head coach of the Aggies a few seasons ago. The most obvious way in which this is true is in the win totals: Texas A&M, in Elko's first season at the helm, won eight games— and that jumped to eleven this past season.
That has come about as a result of Elko's rehaul of the program as a whole— that can be seen simply in terms of the roster makeup, as the Aggies had to scramble after being left with only 46 scholarship players when Elko arrived on campus.
Along with that reshaped roster has come a remade culture in College Station— the aspect of the program that, reportedly, needed an overhaul the most by the time Jimbo Fisher departed. That culture has been put on display in several ways, but today's naming of the 2026 team captains for the Aggies is yet another one.
Texas A&M football's new team captain lineup shows just how far the culture has come under Mike Elko
Texas A&M tweeted out the following earlier today:
Chosen to uphold the standard of Texas A&M Football.
— Texas A&M Football (@AggieFootball) April 17, 2026
2026 Team Captains:
Micah Riley
Daymion Sanford
Marcel Reed
Marcus Ratcliffe
Dalton Brooks pic.twitter.com/M2lM4pfk5u
In Elko's first season in the Maroon and White, the Aggies had merely two team captains: Trey Zuhn and Taurean York. Those were both very deserving, of course, but it was somewhat telling that no one else was viewed by their peers as worthy of receiving this honor.
Last year, Zuhn and York once more earned that honor— but they were joined by Ar'maj Reed-Adams. He may have joined them the previous season were it not for Elko's policy that new transfers are ineligible for this distinction (another mark of his culture, it's worth mentioning).
Now, the number of captains on this Aggie team has leapt from three all the way to five. That shows that those in the Aggies' locker room are beginning to see leadership in greater and greater measure around the team— this program is beginning to reap what Elko has been sowing ever since he arrived.
This year will be telling as regards the Aggies' culture in many ways, as most of the contributors on this team will be Elko's guys well and truly. I have a feeling that that's going to behoove Texas A&M as the 2026 season progresses.
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