Tag: Texas A&M University

ESPN insider Pete Thamel believes ‘toughness and discipline’ is key for Aggies this season

“I really think if Elko brings the fundamentals back and combines that with the talent, Texas A&M is going to be stout on Saturday night.”

Two years ago, Texas A&M secured the highest-rated recruiting class of the modern era. Yet, the Jimbo Fisher era in College Station proved to be a complete and utter failure because the program didn’t have structure.

The Aggies do now under new head coach Mike Elko, which ESPN senior writer Pete Thamel pointed out Wednesday on “College Football Live.”

“What Texas A&M fans want to see on this year’s team compared to recent editions is toughness and discipline,” Thamel proclaimed. “If Mike Elko has a hallmark from his two years as the head coach at Duke and then his time as a coordinator at Notre Dame, Wake Forest, you can go back to Hofstra and even his time as an assistant at Merchant Marine Academy. The sum was always greater than the parts.

“Look, the parts are pretty good right now at Texas A&M. They have one of the best defensive lines in the country. There has not been a lack of talent at Texas A&M, there’s been a lack of execution (and) discipline. I really think if Mike Elko brings the fundamentals back and combines that with the talent, Texas A&M is going to be stout on Saturday night.”

No. 20 Texas A&M officially kicks off the season on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. CT against No. 7 Notre Dame at Kyle Field on ABC and ESPN+.

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The gridiron at Kyle Field will look different this upcoming Texas A&M football season

The Mike Elko era at Texas A&M officially begins this weekend and the gridiron at Kyle Field will look different for this upcoming season.

The Mike Elko era officially begins this weekend at Texas A&M and the gridiron at Kyle Field will have a different look this upcoming season.

On Wednesday night, the Aggie Football social media team revealed the field that will be played upon in College Station this year. The first change comes at the 50-yard line.

Rather than keeping the generic and plain white A&M logo alone at midfield, the Aggies have spiced it up a bit. A maroon silhouette, with a white border, of the great Lone Star State of Texas has been added to the background, with the A&M logo proudly sitting in the foreground. Each end zone has also been painted maroon with Texas A&M written in white.

Between the 20 and 0-yard lines in each corner, additions have been made as well. In the top left and bottom right reads “Home of the 12th Man.” In the bottom left and top right, it says “G.R.I.N.D.”

Along with holding his players accountable with discipline, Elko has instilled within the Aggies to “embrace the grind.” Perhaps inserting periods between each letter in the word is a sign that the word is an acronym that Elko and his staff would rather keep behind closed doors.

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‘Still young enough’ former Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher ready for ‘right opportunities’

“I’m still young enough that I’m gonna be ready to roll pretty soon… We’ll see when the season ends if the right opportunities are there.”

Members of the 12th Man need to brace themselves because John James Fisher has reemerged once again.

The former Texas A&M football head coach known as “Jimbo” made an appearance Monday on ESPN Radio’s “Unsportsmanlike” with guest hosts Peter Burns and and Courtney Cronin.

Here’s what offensive coordinator Collin Klein brings to the Texas A&M rushing attack

Something that fell under the radar when Klein was hired by Elko in December is how much he’ll positively benefit the Aggies rushing attack.

As a former college quarterback at the Power Five level who was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, offensive coordinator Collin Klein is expected to elevate Texas A&M junior QB Conner Weigman‘s play to another level this upcoming season.

However, something that fell under the radar when Klein was hired by head coach Mike Elko in December is how much he can positively benefit the Aggies rushing attack. Despite sophomore running back Rueben Owens being ruled out for the entire 2024 season, the remaining Texas A&M halfbacks must embrace the “next man up” mentality.

The remainder of the Aggies RB depth chart includes graduate students, EJ Smith & Israel Benjamin, juniors, Amari Daniels, AJ DiNota & Le’Veon Moss, sophomore Preston Landis and freshmen, Ramarian Tillman & Ronnie Crosby III.

And the Valley Shook, an LSU blog a part of SB Nation, writer Max Toscano spent his offseason watching film and is extremely bullish about Klein as he wrote Thursday morning on X, “what A&M OC Collin Klein is doing is revolutionary at the upper levels of football.”

Check out the embedded thread below to see “wacky and insane stuff on the ground” created by Klein and presented by Toscano.

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Miami Dolphins RB & Texas A&M alumnus De’Von Achane to surpass elite Heisman Trophy winner

Dolphins RB De’Von Achane showcased elite speed during his rookie season in the NFL and the rest of the nation is starting to take notice.

Miami Dolphins running back De’Von Achane showcased elite speed during his rookie season in the NFL and the rest of the nation is starting to take notice of what Texas A&M fans have known for a while.

In only 11 games last year, Achane accomplished a feat that took an elite Heisman Trophy winner over 11 campaigns to accomplish. With five 40-yard rushes in 2023, he tied the total achieved by longtime New Orleans Saints RB and USC alumnus Reggie Bush during his entire professional career.

Additionally, the Aggies alumnus is already among the top 10 fastest players in the league according to ratings in the upcoming Madden NFL 25 video game. With a speed of 96, Achane is 1-of-3 Dolphins in the upper echelon, alongside wide receivers Tyreek Hill (99) and Jaylen Waddle (97). He has the same rating as three WR: Rashid Shaheed of the Saints, DK Metcalf of the Seattle Seahawks and Christian Watson of the Green Bay Packers.

Miami begins the 2024 season against the Jacksonville Jaguars at noon CT on Sept. 8 at Hard Rock Stadium.

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Texas A&M athletic director Trev Alberts ‘hopeful’ that Lone Star Showdown becomes annual

“What you don’t want to do is get to a point where you’re asking Texas ‘who you want your rival to be?’ I’m hopeful that we can get there.”

The Lone Star Showdown will be played annually until at least 2026 but Texas A&M athletic director Trev Alberts wants the game to be played forever, as it rightfully should.

“It hasn’t been determined and I don’t want to speak for Chris (Del Conte) but I want it to be played every year. I think it’s important to Texas, Texas high school football and needs to be played every year. There’s some nuance to that,” Alberts said Thursday. “How many conference games are we going to play in the SEC? How does it impact the College Football Playoff? When you start getting into different schedule models, many of us ‘have more than one traditional rival.’ What you don’t want to do is get to a point where you’re asking Texas ‘who you want your rival to be? Oklahoma or Texas A&M?’ I’m hopeful that we can get there but I want this game played every year.

“We started thinking about how we can advance this, really grow the rivalry and make it as special as it can be. It’s a three-year commitment with mutual agreements and potential to extend it even further. We want some stability and continuity in the showdown so I think that’ll be really important.”

The Aggies host the Longhorns at Kyle Field on Nov. 30.

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Lone Star Showdown trophy is being discussed per Texas A&M athletic director Trev Alberts

“There has been some discussions about those types of things. Those are some of the details that need to be worked out. That would be fun.”

The Lone Star Showdown is officially coming back to the gridiron in just over three months and Texas A&M athletic director Trev Alberts recently discussed the possibility of the trophy returning as well.

“There has been some discussions about those types of things, I don’t have specifics on the details of that. Those are some of the details that still need to be worked out as we kind of work through it. That would be fun. I just got a trophy the other day from NACDA that detailed our sixth place finish in the Director’s Cup. People are proud of that and worked towards that so we’ll see where that goes,” Alberts said Thursday. “Obviously in the state of Texas, this game is really important to a lot of people. It divides a lot of people but this is what makes it college athletics.

“I’m telling you, I played in a lot of football games, the rivalry games hit different, they just do. It’s a privilege and an honor to get to play in rivalry games like this. I said it, and I believe this, give us a little time, Texas-Texas A&M will be the biggest rivalry game in college football. It has that opportunity, passion and we’re looking forward to it.”

The Aggies host the Longhorns at Kyle Field on Nov. 30.

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Texas A&M women’s basketball team reveals 16-game Southeastern Conference schedule

While the first three games may be extremely challenging, it’ll quickly show Aggies head coach Joni Taylor exactly what her team is made of.

After the Texas A&M men’s basketball team unveiled its 2025 SEC schedule on Tuesday, the following day belonged to the ladies.

The Aggies women’s basketball team revealed its 16-game conference slate on Wednesday. While the first three games may be extremely challenging, it’ll quickly show head coach Joni Taylor exactly what her team is made of.

Texas A&M begins SEC play with back-to-back home matchups in College Station, Jan. 2 versus Tennessee and Jan. 5 against Ole Miss. The Aggies hit the road for the next two contests, Jan. 9 at South Carolina and Jan. 12 at Oklahoma.

On Jan. 16, Texas A&M hosts Georgia. Precisely one week later, the Aggies welcome Kentucky to their land. Texas A&M travels to the bayou on Jan. 26 to face LSU. Four days after, the Aggies matchup against Arkansas.

Texas A&M starts the second half of the conference campaign on Feb. 2 versus Texas. The Aggies play at Auburn on Feb. 6. Texas A&M returns to Reed Arena on Feb. 9 to take on Mizzou. Eight days later, the Aggies travel to Tuscaloosa to for a matchup at Alabama.

On Feb. 20, Texas A&M faces Florida. The Aggies conclude their road schedule with a pair of games, Feb. 23 at Mississippi State and Feb. 27 versus Vanderbilt.

Texas A&M begins the madness by finishing the regular season at Reed Arena against Arkansas on March 2.

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Southeastern Conference announces 6 tiebreaker tiers for upcoming college football season

The SEC revealed tiebreaker scenarios for this upcoming college football season if conference teams are deadlocked when the year concludes.

The Southeastern Conference revealed six tiebreaker scenarios for this upcoming college football season if teams within the conference are deadlocked when the regular season concludes.

The following are the six tiers that tiebreakers will be broken with:

  1. Head-to-head competition among the tied teams
  2. Record versus all common conference opponents among the tied teams
  3. Record against highest (best) placed common conference opponent in the conference standings, and proceeding through the conference standings among the tied teams
  4. Cumulative conference winning percentage of all conference opponents among the tied teams
  5. Capped relative total scoring margin versus all conference opponents among the tied teams
  6. Random draw of the tied teams

The Texas A&M football team starts its SEC schedule in Gainesville on Sept. 14 at 2:30 p.m. CT against Florida. Two weeks later, the Aggies will face Arkansas in a neutral site clash from the home of Razorbacks alumnus Jerry Jones at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

Other conference opponents for Texas A&M this year include Mizzou, Mississippi State, LSU, South Carolina, Auburn and Texas.

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SEC play begins with pair of juicy matchups for Texas A&M men’s basketball team

Before football starts, it’s time to look ahead to hoops season as the Texas A&M men’s basketball team released its SEC schedule on Tuesday.

Although we may all be hyperfixated on the college football campaign starting next week, and for good reason, it’s time to look ahead to hoops season as the Texas A&M men’s basketball team released its full SEC schedule on Tuesday afternoon.

The conference slate begins on the fourth day of 2025. The first two SEC games on the Aggies’ schedule are against two programs that weren’t even in the conference last year: Texas and Oklahoma.

Texas A&M hosts the Longhorns before playing in Norman against the Sooners on either Jan. 7 or 8, which is to be determined. The Aggies close out January against the same two squads, Jan. 25 at Texas and Jan. 28 or 29 versus Oklahoma.

Following eight games in January and seven in February, Texas A&M begins the madness with three more conference contests in March. The Aggies play at Florida on March 1, against Auburn on March 4 or 5 in the regular season home finale and March 8 in the bayou at LSU.

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