Mike Elko details Texas A&M's 2025 recruiting haul on Early Signing Day

The class of 2025 is Mike Elko's first full recruiting cycle as the head coach in Aggieland, and on Wednesday, A&M inked 24 new Aggies as the Early Signing Period opened. During TexAgs Live's bonus coverage on Wednesday evening, Elko sat down to talk about the newest Ags.

Key notes from Mike Elko interview

• I don't know that we adjusted mid-way through. We set out to sign a team. That was the first goal. You are always flexible in finding great players. We never want to be so rigid with the numbers that when a great opportunity presents itself, you can't move in that direction. The two things we found out early were we were excited about the defensive tackle class in the state and the offensive line class in the state. We wanted to go out and get the guys we identified as impact players. You see nine linemen from the state. There were other areas where we felt we needed to look outside. We were able to do that and supplement it really well.
   
• Us being so far west in the SEC, there is a natural tie for us to go that way. You see us go to Arizona and get a corner. You see us go to Utah and get a wide receiver. We got three kids from California. There is a little bit of a natural draw where kids west of Texas want to play in the SEC. This is an easy place to access. Jordan Peterson brings a lot of recruiting ties to Arizona and California. Holmon Wiggins is from Cali. There is some recognition name-wise out there. That is an area where we believe we can supplement what we are trying to do.
   
• Billy and I have talked about this. When I got here, we had so many tall corners in the program, and everyone associated them with me. Whether it was Myles Jones, Debione Renfroe, Charles Oliver or Clifford Chattman, we had all of these tall corners. I didn't recruit them. I inherited them. The ones we recruited were Tyreek Chappell, Jaylon jones... The thing for us is quantifiable speed. In order to be the secondary in this conference and ultimately in the NFL, where you need to be really good, we have to be able to find quantifiable speed. You are looking for length to go with that. You have these kids with track times that can flat-out run in the 100m. They can cover and hit. That is what we were looking for. The one guy I would say is more my type of guy in the secondary is Antonio Johnson. It's that taller, longer WR/safety who has really good ball skills, and when he hits you, you feel it. I love Demani Richardson.
   
• We felt like Marco Jones‍ was the premier defensive end in the country. For whatever reason, that one didn't flash, maybe. We feel like that was an enormous win. We had him targeted as a kid, and we had to have him. We went after him from day one. All the West Coast schools wanted him. We always saw that in him. You see production. I read his numbers at the press conference today. These are kids who not only talked but were good football players.
   
• Noah Mikhail‍ was similar. We felt like he was the premier linebacker in the country. He and I were talking about this last night. The first time he came and visited, we got to meet his family. I was like, "I think this kid fits who we want to be." Again, a two-way player and has serious athleticism.
   
• Offensive tackle and defensive tackle are high-priority positions. When you get elite ones in the state, it's important that you find a way to get them. I felt the angst of getting one of those three tackles from Dallas. That was important. You have to get one of them, and we were able to get Lamont Rogers‍.
   
• We signed so many talented kids when I was here as a DC. The best part of this class is how quiet it was. You get signing day, and they all ink, and you are like, "Ok, it really was quiet." They really were good kids and good families. We talk about this when we recruit. This is hard. Playing in the SEC is not fun and games. This is a really hard thing to build a program and win a national championship. It's not easy. You want kids that go through those hard things together and grow. That is what I think we found a lot of. The one thing that is different about this group from maybe other groups is they committed in the spring and stayed committed. You didn't see them bouncing around visiting other schools. They weren’t on social media, saying, "Hey, look at me, I'm over here." They were Aggies.
   
• The other name I will throw into that leader group of Landon Rink‍, Kelvion Riggins‍ and Deyjhon Pettaway‍ is Kiotti Armstrong‍. He is a 6-foot-6 tight end that everybody in the country converted. He picked Texas A&M. No one stopped recruiting him all the way until last night and into this morning. Everyone wanted him. He was mature about it. His dad helped an awful lot. They stayed true to what they said they wanted to do here. Rink is an elite player. He was coveted. We stopped him from going to one of the premier schools in the Midwest. I tell the kids all the time, "If you look at who has success in college football, it's not always the kids who are the loudest on social media." Keeping a low profile is good for you because it keeps you out of this mental deal with social media that you have to endure in your college career.
   
• I think its always a "We'll see" with adding new guys, but there is nobody I project. We were sitting here at this time last year, and there were five kids I could have to tell you would go all the way to February. Certainly, as I sit here today, no. I think this class is wrapped up and done.
   
• Jamarion Morrow‍ did remind me of Ainias Smith a little bit when I watched him. Even De'Von Achane a little bit. There is an athletic and a twitch about how he played the game. Both Ainias and Achane were Swiss Army Knives. When you look at what Morrow is doing, he is carrying his team to the state title on a team that has not had a lot of success. Those things matter. He is carrying his squad to a state championship. There are a lot of traits here.
   
• Deondrae Riden‍ is another guy that we should put on that list of leaders we talked about earlier. He was a high-level recruit who committed to us, and everyone wanted him. He has great vision, unbelievable balance and body control. He is really physical as a runner and can anticipate holes opening up. When you talk about breaking the rushing record at DeSoto High School, that is not a minor feat. He could be a three-time state champion.
   
• The amount of quality football players in this state that want to play for Texas A&M or have Aggies in their family or town, there are good quality football players out there that have Group of 5 offers that you can make a priority and do some different things now to get them to still come to school for free. You have to take advantage of those opportunities. We want to build out a specialist pool every year. We want to find the best in the state.
   
• That is where I challenge our staff. It is really easy to watch a three-minute highlight tape and get a feel for what a kid is. Its a lot harder to spend 30 minutes watching game tape, play in and play out stuff. You will see instincts and see how hard they play. Sometimes, you want a highlight tape, and you think it's one thing, then watch game tape and say, "Woah." Those things matter. When you are trying to discern who will be a good player in two years, that is what matters.
   
• My son, Mikey, is good. Is he texting you, Brauny? My family is doing really good. It was good to have them in town for Thanksgiving. We had the whole crew in. My son Andrew is sorting the college process right now. Lacrosse is starting for him. He will finish out his senior year. My daughter is still running our entire household. The one thing I never really thought about was when we moved to Duke; we waited until Mikey was done with HS and didn't realize that every time he came home, he didn't know a single 18 to 21-year-old in the entire state of North Carolina. When I too this job, I think he was the happiest. During breaks, all of his buddies are home.
   
• It being a low-maintenance day speaks to the quality and character. I am thankful for all of the families we dealt with in this process. We had a lot of open, honest dialogue. I don't think anything happened that we were unaware of. Every final 48 hours is stressful as you go through it, but I appreciate the families we have coming into this program. I think Aggies will be really proud of this group.
   
• We built our staff that gives us the people we need. Our recruiting team is probably about 16 deep. Our coaches and analysts do a great job. The thing we are always blessed with at Texas A&M is we have a phenomal student army. They are so passionate about A&M and A&M football that I will rival them against anyone on the planet.
   
• I do appreciate the change in the calendar. Getting this class locked in before the portal opens, so we have a clear picture of what we need. It allows us to be in-house, too.