HC Mike Elko praises Texas A&M’s improved secondary this season

Texas A&M’s secondary has become a surprising strength this season

Texas A&M (5-1, 3-0 SEC) will head to Starkville (MS) to face Mississippi State on Saturday afternoon. The Aggies look to earn their sixth consecutive win, and head coach Mike Elko has previewed the matchup throughout the week.

On Wednesday, during the weekly Aggie Football Hour radio session, Elko reflected on the Aggies’ first six games, culminating with the Week 6 41-10 blowout win over the Missouri Tigers behind a stellar offensive showing from quarterback Conner Weigman and running back Le’Veon Moss.

In his total evaluation of the roster, Elko noted the vast improvement from the revamped Aggie secondary, especially the cornerback rotation, after adding nearly a dozen defensive backs from the transfer portal this offseason.

Outside of allowing several explosive passing plays since the start of SEC play, defensive coordinator Jay Bateman deserves a ton of credit for mixing up both the corner and safety rotation every game.

At the same time, junior cornerback Will Lee III has been nothing short of stellar, sixth in the country with eight pass deflections so far.

“If you say ‘overall improvement counting additions,’ I think it’s DB. … We’ve made strides. A lot of that was what we did in the transfer portal.”

On Saturday, Elko and Bateman will need the secondary to continue defending at a high level against Mississippi State’s high-flying passing offense. Safety Dalton Brooks is another name to watch as a downhill defender who has recently impressed.

Texas A&M will face Mississippi State on the road on Saturday, Oct. 19, at 3:15 p.m. CT. The game will air on the SEC Network.

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Breaking: Former San Diego State DB Marcus Ratcliffe will transfer to Texas A&M

Texas A&M has flipped former San Diego State defensive back Marcus Ratcliffe, who was recently committed to UCLA.

Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko is on fire in the transfer portal and is hitting on some major positions of need. He wasn’t telling any lies when he said there would be some moves made after the bowl games.

A glaring issue this past season on the defensive side of the ball was the inconsistency on the secondary play. Then, with several defensive backs transferring out, the need was dire after seeing the young DBs struggle in the bowl game against Oklahoma State.

Help is reportedly on the way, as Elko has flipped the fifth-ranked safety in the portal in the form of former San Diego State DB Marcus Ratcliffe, who was recently committed to UCLA. The 6’3″ 210-pound freshman was fourth on the team with 50 tackles and 1 interception on the season.

Texas A&M is already in the Top Ten in the 247 Sports transfer rankings, with more to come in the next few days, so buckle up and enjoy the ride.

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Florida joins race for transfer safety committed to UCLA

Former San Diego State defensive back Marcus Ratcliffe committed to UCLA last week, but now a pair of SEC programs have joined the race.

Even though former San Diego State safety [autotag]Marcus Ratcliffe[/autotag] committed to UCLA a week ago, he is still hearing from some teams looking for defensive backs in the transfer portal, including the Florida Gators.

According to a report from 247Sports’ Greg Biggins, Ratcliffe picked up an offer from UF and Texas A&M on Sunday. While he remains committed to UCLA for now, Ratcliffe says he hopes to check out both schools in person next month.

“I want to try and visit both in January,” Ratcliffe said. “It’s a dead period starting tomorrow (Dec. 18) but when it opens back up in January, I want to try and get out and see both schools.”

Florida’s connection to Ratcliffe comes through newly hired defensive backs coach Will Harris. The two knew each other during Ratcliffe’s high school days and Harris is the one who presented him with the offer on Sunday.

Ratcliffe found his way into a starting role as a true freshman at San Diego State. He finished the season with 49 total tackles (31 solo), one tackle for loss, two pass deflections and one interception.

On3 ranks Ratcliffe No. 196 among players in the transfer portal. 247Sports is more bullish on him at No. 79 overall and No. 5 among safeties.

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