Mike Elko ranked Top 10 in ESPN's college football HC rankings

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

It’s been a busy offseason for Texas A&M coach Mike Elko, who enters his third season at the helm after leading the Aggies to the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history and after taking over as the defensive play-caller; A&M finished tied for second in team sacks, with former Bowling Green transfer edge Cashius Howell leading the SEC in sacks (11.5).

During his first full starting season, quarterback Marcel Reed took another step in his development, passing for a career-high 3,169 yards and 25 touchdowns, while his 12 interceptions, which were tied for the second most in the SEC, contributed to the Aggies’ final two losses to Texas and Miami in the first round of the CFP.

Despite falling to the Hurricanes, Mike Elko accomplished his first goal of getting to the postseason, and after a record 10 players were selected in the 2026 NFL Draft, his second goal, which the New Jersey native predicted early in the offseason, came to fruition and further proved that he isn’t just an elite recruiter but one of the top developers in the country.

In several preseason SEC head coach rankings, Elko is ranked as the 5th-best coach in the conference, while ESPN’s latest national head coach rankings placed Elko at a respectable No. 8, and fourth among SEC coaches. For many, only Lane Kiffin (LSU), Steve Sarkisian (Texas) and Kirby Smart (Georgia) belong ahead of Elko, while Indiana coach Curt Cignetti unsurprisingly comes in at No. 1 after leading the Hoosiers to their first national title.

In his first two seasons, Elko is 19-7, the second-best start in Texas A&M history behind former coach Kevin Sumlin’s 20-6 record, which was heavily aided by Heisman-winning quarterback Johnny Manziel. ESPN’s David Hale placed Elko 5th in his own personal rankings and explained his reasoning.

“It’s a fair critique to suggest Elko still has a lot to prove, but I’m already sold. Yes, I knocked Lanning for failing to win the big one — and Elko hasn’t done that either. But unlike Lanning, who took over a program where everyone before him also had won big, Elko has been the coach who appears poised to finally turn A&M into the behemoth everyone always thought it could be. And that comes after winning as a defensive coordinator at Wake Forest, Notre Dame and A&M — working with high-intensity head coaches at each stop — and then instantly building Duke into a consistent winner. Elko has the rare combination of smarts, vision and communication skills to do the job at the highest level — but without the ego or stubbornness that had made A&M such a tough place to win amid the program’s politics for so many coaches who came before him.”

Hale hits the nail on the head in his description of what makes Elko a perfect fit, as Aggie fans are well aware that only R. C. Slocum was the last head coach to achieve sustained success in College Station, and his track record has not been matched since.

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

This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Mike Elko ranked Top 10 in ESPN’s college football HC rankings

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos