Brent Venables Has Been Really Impressed With What Mike Elko's Has Done At Texas A&M

The Texas A&M Aggies will be taking the stage at SEC Media Days late on Wednesday afternoon, where head coach Mike Elko, along with quarterback Marcel Reed, safety Marcus Ratcliffe and linebacker Daymion Sanford, all made the trip down to Tampa, Florida.

Although the Aggies had yet to hit the stage in front of the media to answer questions about Texas A&M's upcoming 2026 season, the Maroon and White have been a topic of conversation among the media and other SEC head coaches and players.

And the Aggies were brought up to one SEC head coach who had nothing but praise for both Elko and the Texas A&M program.

Brent Venables Talks about Mike Elko and Texas A&M Matchup

Texas A&M Aggies head coach Mike Elko reacts on the sideline during the second quarter against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Kyle Field. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

On Monday, the first day of SEC Media Days, the first program to get to step out onto the stage in Tampa was the Oklahoma Sooners, and the Aggies would hear their name called in the very first window of media availability.

Oklahoma head coach Bret Venables would be asked about renewing a rivalry with the Aggies this year as the two teams face each other as SEC rivals for the first time this season. And Venables first had high praise for Texas A&M's head man.

"It's exciting. Another one of the long teams that talks about the depth of the SEC," Venables said. "Mike and his staff have done a wonderful job at building the roster, taking over a really good roster when Jimbo left, continued that tradition of building in the trenches. If they've done something really well, they've done that well."

And Venables is right, as in just two seasons since taking over for former head coach Jimbo Fisher, Elko has the Aggies on the cusp of being one of the top teams both in the SEC and in the country. With an overall 19-7 record over two seasons, Elko's first season was a middle-of-the-pack 8-5 season.

However, year two was a step in a positive direction for the Aggies' championship hopes as they ended with an 11-2 record and made an appearance in the College Football Playoff for the very first time.

Venables also spoke about the matchup between the Sooners and the Aggies, which will revive an old Big 12 rivalry now in the SEC as Texas A&M and Oklahoma face each other for the first time since once again becoming conference rivals.

"Going to be a great, great challenge," Venables said. "Going to be in Norman, thankfully for us. One of many good teams that, man we have to show up with our A game and have a chance to compete."

A matchup set as the second-to-last game of the season will be an important one for both teams as they each hope for a chance to make the College Football Playoff.

For the Aggies, the battle comes at a challenging part of the schedule, facing Tennessee the week before and then the Lone Star Showdown against Texas the week after.

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