A grey-haired gentleman, wearing a plaid shirt and khaki’s, used his moment with the microphone to convey the plight of the Texas A&M fan for — at least — the last 50 years.
In essence, the patron of Monday’s Brazos County A&M Club Coaches Night said he was tired of waiting for “next year” to be THE year.
“When is it going to change and what are you going to do to change that?” the man asked.
Monday, inside the Legends Event Center, presented Elko with another coronation of such — his first introduction to talking season as the Aggie head coach. His mission, in parallel with the gentleman’s question, was to convey that he is just the representative of a program that belongs to former students.
“We want to be in this together with our fans and that’s how something really special gets built,” Elko told local media before the event. “Hopefully, this is the first start of that.”
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In his first speaking engagement of the summer, Elko kept his prepared comments brief.
He began his comments thanking the community for accepting his family, now twice.
“This is my second-longest tenured place as a football coach over my career. By the time I get out of here, as a head coach, when I finally retire from this sport, it will be the longest,” Elko said.
He addressed the question that is on everyone’s mind as the Aggie football team prepares for its first season under Elko: Will quarterback Conner Weigman be back to 100% after suffering a season-ending foot injury last year?
Though still limited in mobility from the injury, Weigman participated in 14 out of the 15 spring practices, Elko said.
“Conner will be fine,” he repeated twice. “He had a really, really bad break in that ankle. It was not ready to go this spring. That’s OK. Our record in the spring doesn’t actually count. To his credit, he understood the value of getting out on that field and taking reps… By the time we show up for Notre Dame, he will be just fine.”
But, in a strategy uncommon for many high-level head football coaches, Elko opened the majority of his time at the coaches night podium for questions from, what he said, are the true owners of the Aggie football program.
One question asked if A&M’s offensive line, which has been especially porous the last two seasons, would be able to demonstrate more depth.
“We can be two deep, because I can put you in as the backup right guard,” Elko joked at the question.
His hope, however, is to return to putting offensive linemen into the first round of the NFL Draft, as was the case in the year’s following A&M’s entrance into the Southeastern Conference. He said he liked the direction the unit was trending coming out of spring practice.
“I don’t think there’s any doubt that that’s a huge part of success on offense,” Elko said. “It’s even bigger in this conference, where I think the offensive and defensive lines are completely different than they are anywhere else in the country. Our ability to get really talented and really good on the offensive line, as quick as we possibly can, will play a huge role in our ability to be successful on offense.”
One member of the audience wanted to hear Elko’s thoughts on name, image and likeness compensation and the transfer portal. The new head coach used an illustration from one of his favorite movies, “Moneyball,” which chronicles how general manager Billy Beane transformed the Oakland Athletics’ baseball organization. He referenced the line from the movie, “Adapt or die.”
“My message, across the board to Aggie supporters everywhere is, this is what college football looks like today,” Elko said. “Like we’ve done always around here, let’s figure out a way to do it the best.”
But, the underling sentiment from every question raised Monday came back to the same point the gentleman raised late in the evening, when are the Aggies going to finish the football season in the national championship conversation and how is Elko going to make that happen?
“I think, from Day 1 that I got here, I’ve promised nothing other than the fact that I will roll up my sleeves and go to work every single day to make this program the best program it is going to be,” Elko said.. I think, for the first time, you have an alignment of leadership, from the president to the athletic director to the head football coach, that is so critical in modern-day college football.
If the Aggies can ever come back to one of these Brazos Valley Coaches Nights after an undefeated season, Elko joked the celebration will be even bigger than his first time speaking to this crowd.
“I’ll tell you this, if I’m back here next year still undefeated, this is going to turn into a big-ass party,” he joked.