Tag: Jimbo Fisher

Shorthanded Texas A&M football team bested by No. 20 Oklahoma State in Texas Bowl rematch

“This program is capable of being a team that is in the playoff and competing for national championships every year,” Mike Elko told ESPN.

The Jimbo Fisher era at Texas A&M has finally come to an end following the Texas Bowl which concluded the 2023 season on Wednesday night in Houston.

No. 20 Oklahoma State (10-4) defeated the Aggies (7-6) by a final score of 31-23 at NRG Stadium. The Cowboys earned revenge from the 2019 Texas Bowl, which Texas A&M won 24-21.

Wednesday’s SEC versus Big 12 showdown began with a somber start as Aggies sophomore quarterback Jaylen Henderson injured his right arm on the first snap of the game. He did not return and true freshman Marcel Reed took over as starting quarterback for the remainder of the contest.

Five plays stuck out for Texas A&M as highlights of the game. First, junior wide receiver Moose Muhammad III hauled in an incredible 29-yard one-handed reception in the second quarter.

Next, freshman defensive back Dalton Brooks reeled in his first collegiate interception to begin the second half. Then in the third period, Reed took off down the right sideline and galloped into the end zone for a 20-yard rushing touchdown. About four minutes into the fourth quarter, graduate student Sam Mathews recorded the first interception of his Texas A&M career.

Finally, junior kicker Randy Bond tallied a hat trick with three field goals. His final boot of the night came with 5:07 remaining and bounced off the crossbar and in from 51 yards out to set a new Texas Bowl record.

While there may have been positive plays along the way, the Aggies were ultimately overmatched against Oklahoma State. Texas A&M had only 48 scholarship players in uniform on Wednesday.

Aggies interim head coach Elijah Robinson now departs the program to become defensive coordinator at Syracuse. He led Texas A&M to a 1-2 overall record during his short tenure at the helm.

As the calendar turns to 2024 in a couple of days, the Mike Elko era in College Station officially begins. Elko was interviewed during the Texas Bowl on ESPN and his outlook for the future of Aggies football should get the 12th Man very excited.

“We’ve gotta become what we’re capable of becoming, that’s the biggest thing,” Elko said on ESPN. “This program is capable of being a team that is in the playoff and competing for national championships every year, but we’re not that right now. We’ve gotta recognize that, roll up our sleeves and go to work to become what we should be.”

Below are the Texas A&M critical contributors from the game:

Reed: 20-33 pass attempts, 361 yards passing, 29 yards rushing and 1 TD

Amari Daniels: 8 carries for 29 yards rushing and 1 TD, 1 catch for 34 yards

Jahdae Walker: 8 catches for 137 yards

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Shaun on Twitter: @Shaun_Holkko.

‘Respected’ Aggies coach Mike Elko quickly repairing relationships with Texas high school coaches

“Mike Elko has turned our relationship with Texas A&M around 180 degrees in the few weeks he’s been there,” said THSCA executive Glen West.

Former Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher may have had the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class in 2022 but damaged many relationships on the way to achieving such a feat.

Some of the most vital connections that Fisher tarnished were with high school football coaches in Texas. New Aggies head coach Mike Elko is now working his tail off to repair those strained relationships.

“Mike Elko has turned our relationship with Texas A&M around 180 degrees in the few weeks he’s been there,” said Glen West, assistant executive director of the Texas High School Coaches Association. “The thing was on its head and he flipped it. He showed up to our office by himself — no driver, no entourage — shook our hands and said, ‘I’m Mike, I’m here to help.’ It was refreshing to see and hear and something I really respected.”

A prime example of Elko’s efforts came last week on Dec. 12 when he spent his Tuesday recruiting in the Houston area. Whether Elko’s time and energy ultimately pay dividends at Kyle Field is to be seen.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Shaun on Twitter: @Shaun_Holkko.

Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy has ‘no idea’ what to expect from Aggies in Texas Bowl

Led by Elijah Robinson, the Aggies will have the element of surprise during their matchup against No. 20 Oklahoma State in the Texas Bowl.

The element of surprise is rare in sports, but that is certainly the case for Texas A&M‘s upcoming matchup against No. 20 Oklahoma State in the Texas Bowl.

The Aggies are currently in a transition period led by interim head coach Elijah Robinson. Texas A&M fired head coach Jimbo Fisher on Nov. 12 and hired Mike Elko from Duke to replace him on Nov. 26.

“We have no idea what they’re gonna do,” Gundy said Thursday. “We don’t have any idea what they’re gonna do. They play three down, they play four down. They play man, they play zone. The coordinator’s not there on either side of the ball.

“So, we don’t have any idea what they’re doing. We’re practicing for spring ball and putting a little gameplan together and gonna go down and play.”

Elko hired Collin Klein from Kansas State as the new offensive coordinator on Dec. 6. He has yet to formally hire a new defensive coordinator. However, one would imagine that Elko would want to bring in one of his own guys to fill his former role rather than retaining D.J. Durkin from Fisher’s staff.

As for the Texas Bowl at 8 p.m. CT on Dec. 27, none of us have any idea what the Aggies will look like, Gundy included.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Shaun on Twitter: @Shaun_Holkko.

Report: 2024 3-star QB prospect Anthony Maddox picks Ole Miss hours after decommitting from Texas A&M

According to Hayes Fawcett of On3 Sports, the Hattiesburg, Miss. native has committed to play collegiate football for head coach Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss.

One day after decommitting from Texas A&M, 2024 3-star quarterback prospect Anthony Maddox has decided to stay home.

According to Hayes Fawcett of On3 Sports, the Hattiesburg, Miss. native has committed to play collegiate football for head coach Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss.

“Man, Ole Miss is a great place,” Maddox told On3 Sports on Saturday. “Coach Lane Kiffin and coach (Charlie) Weis (Jr.) together as an offensive mind is crazy. Seeing the production that Jaxson Dart has put in over two years leads me to think I could do even more once I get there.

“I’m closest with coach Weis and (Pete) Golding. Coach Weis’ plan for me is to play early and contribute, to come out every single day and work my tail off.”

Maddox is 6-foot-2 and 175 pounds from Oak Grove High School. He had 20 total offers and visited the Rebels program last weekend. He originally committed to play at Kyle Field in February before decommitting on Friday.

Maddox told Chad Simmons of On3 Sports that the Aggies’ recent coaching change is what led to his decommitment.

“It was a tough decision. I had a great connection with coach Jimbo Fisher and coach Bobby Petrino, so when they left, it opened me up to other schools,” Maddox explained to On3 Sports on Friday. “I talked to different coaches, I took some visits and I decided to open back up. I saw a great opportunity at Texas A&M under the old staff, but I see better opportunities elsewhere now with the new staff there. The coaching change was a huge factor in my decision.”

Texas A&M is not scheduled to play Ole Miss next season so the Aggies will have to wait until at least 2025 to match up against Maddox and the Rebels.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Shaun on Twitter: @Shaun_Holkko.

Report: 2024 3-star QB prospect Anthony Maddox decommits from Texas A&M

Class of 2024 3-star quarterback prospect Anthony Maddox decommitted from Texas A&M on Friday according to Hayes Fawcett of On3 Sports.

Class of 2024 3-star quarterback prospect Anthony Maddox has decommitted from Texas A&M.

According to a report from Chad Simmons of On3 Sports, Maddox announced his decision on Friday afternoon. He originally committed to play at Kyle Field back in February.

“It was a tough decision. I had a great connection with coach Jimbo Fisher and coach Bobby Petrino, so when they left, it opened me up to other schools,” Maddox told On3 Sports. “I talked to different coaches, I took some visits and I decided to open back up. I saw a great opportunity at Texas A&M under the old staff, but I see better opportunities elsewhere now with the new staff there. The coaching change was a huge factor in my decision.

“I am looking to make a decision by the end of the weekend and it will come down to the atmosphere, what the program can bring me and how I fit into the offensive scheme. I am looking for an opportunity to get onto the field early too, then have a chance to make explosive plays in the offense.”

Maddox is 6-foot-2 and 175 pounds from Oak Grove High School in Hattiesburg, Miss. He has 20 total offers, including to both Southeastern Conference schools in his home state, Ole Miss and Mississippi State.

Per On3 Sports, Maddox visited the Rebels program this past weekend and had a trip planned to College Station that has since been called off. Other frontrunners for the talented quarterback are Louisville and Miami, Simmons said.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Shaun on Twitter: @Shaun_Holkko.

New Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko spends Tuesday recruiting in Houston area

“A lot of great former Aggies, a lot of great current Aggies and hopefully a lot of great future Aggies down here,” Elko told KPRC 2 Houston.

There are many differences between former Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher and new leading man Mike Elko.

One of those differences is recruiting. While Fisher may have brought in the No. 1 recruiting class in 2022, the moves ultimately didn’t pay immediate dividends, leading to his dismissal from College Station.

Elko understands that he not only needs to recruit locally, he also needs to build strong relationships with the high school coaches who are molding the prospects of tomorrow. Elko backed up his words this week by spending Tuesday recruiting in the Houston area.

“Obviously, it’s an extremely talented group of kids,” Elko told Houston’s NBC affiliate KPRC 2. “There are a lot of great programs down here. Certainly the proximity to College Station, this is a place where a huge chunk of our roster is coming from consistently.

“A lot of great former Aggies, a lot of great current Aggies and hopefully a lot of great future Aggies down here!”

 

Seven Aggies hail from Houston currently on the roster: Connor Able, Drake Bhatia, Jacob Graham, Aki Ogunbiyi, Will Smoot, Garrett Townsend and Truette Tumey.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Shaun on Twitter: @Shaun_Holkko.

2023-2024 College Football Coaching Carousel

Texas A&M hires Duke’s Mike Elko as the coaching carousel continues to spin.

The end of the college football season is here and the coaching carousel is once again getting fired up. This season saw two early head coaching changes within the Big Ten to get an early jump on things, but more coaching changes are popping up as we close in on the end of another regular season around the nation.

We’ll keep track of all of the head coaching changes in our updated coaching carousel tracker to see what head coaches are out and who is replacing them. This will be updated daily as needed with the latest head coaching changes as jobs open up and are filled. As is so often the case in college football, one coaching vacancy being filled will lead to another opening popping up as a result.

As of Thursday, Dec. 8 there are 2 head coaching vacancies in college football, including 1 power conference job to fill. A total of 19 head coaching changes have been made this year.

Below is the updated chart for this year’s edition of the head coaching carousel in college football. After that is a bit more detail on each job opening, listed in alphabetical order.

Texas A&M TE Jake Johnson will enter the transfer portal

Talented sophomore TE has entered his name into the transfer portal

This doesn’t come as much of a surprise considering his brother Max Johnson is transferring to North Carolina. It’s a tough loss as Johnson was starting to make some strides, but the Aggie tight end position currently has some decent depth.

We’ll need some time to see how it will shake out, but with Donovan Green returning from his injury, the starting spot should be in good hands.

With their presumed departures, a number of players have now entered the portal thus far, but keep an eye on defensive lineman Walter Nolen, who still has yet to enter after the recent hiring of new defensive line coach Sean Spencer.

The talented sophomore led the tight end group with 24 catches for 235 yards and 4 touchdowns this season. There is a good chance we will join his brother in North Carolina as they will probably want to keep playing together for Max’s potential final college season.

We wish Jake the best and will keep our eye on the portal news to see if Elko brings in a veteran TE to help out the room next year.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Jarrett Johnson on Twitter: @whosnextsports1.

Texas A&M WR Evan Stewart reveals truth about NIL at A&M

Star Texas A&M WR Evan Stewart subtly revealed just how false the NIL narrative remains surrounding the Aggies’ 2022 recruiting class.

Texas A&M star wide receiver Evan Stewart’s impending future with the program has left plenty of Aggie fans on their toes, but keeping up with Stewart’s social media updates is any indication of his current mindset; A&M is still very much in play.

In even more entertaining fashion, Stewart, a former five-star prospect within the Aggies’ historic 2022 recruiting class, defended the program from the accusations that NIL-related funds are flowing through it, leading prospects to choose the program due to its lucrative potential.

On Monday, current Texas A&M cornerback Bobby Taylor’s tweet concerning the recent news that A&M star defensive lineman Walter Nolen was considering his entry into the transfer portal led On3′ Hayes Fawcett to aggregate the statement as complete fact.

“No way 2 years ago you could’ve told me Jimbo would be fired, coaches leave, & half the class dips. How does that happen?”

Stewart, who has shared a locker room with Taylor for the past two seasons, emphatically responded,

I saw it coming freshman year when I didn’t get paid a dollar from a&m but “slice bread” had yall thinking we was all millionaires.” Stewart stated.

Yes, BroBibles’ “SlicedBread” has come back into the fold, as now-former Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher’s 2022 dismissal of an article written by the site referring to an unverified NIL fund compensating the 2022 class could not be verified, especially by someone named after a critical component to sandwich making.

After dealing with several injuries during the 2023 season, Stewart’s decision not to travel in the Aggies season finale vs. LSU created obvious speculation; the sophomore wideout still finished second on the team in receiving with 38 receptions, 514 yards, and four touchdowns.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Cameron on Twitter: @CameronOhnysty.

Auburn flips five-star WR Cam Coleman from Texas A&M

Auburn has not one but TWO five-star wide recievers committed in Cam Coleman and Perry Thompson.

[autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] and [autotag]Marcus Davis[/autotag] have done it again.

The Tigers have pulled off several impressive flips under Freeze but they pulled off their biggest one yet on Friday, landing five-star wide receiver [autotag]Cam Coleman[/autotag], who had been committed to Texas A&M since July 4.

It was far from an easy process for Auburn to land Coleman, they looked like the favorite to land the Central-Phenix City product over the summer but he shockingly committed to [autotag]Jimbo Fisher[/autotag] and the Aggies. They never stopped pursuing him though and when Fisher was fired they capitalized.

Coleman is the No. 7 overall player and No. 3 wide receiver in the 247Sports composite ranking. He is the No. 1 player from Alabama.

He is set to become Auburn’s third-highest-rated signee in program history, trailing only Byron Cowart and Derrick Brown, making him the highest-rated offensive player in Auburn history.

He is Auburn’s 19th commit and fourth at wide receiver, joining fellow five-star [autotag]Perry Thompson[/autotag] and four-star products [autotag]Bryce Cain[/autotag] and [autotag]Malcolm Simmons[/autotag], all of whom are from Alabama.

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on  X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow JD on Twitter @jdmccarthy15