Mike Elko Gives His Honest Impression of Texas A&M's First Fall Camp Scrimmage

The 2026 college football season is now under three weeks away, and the competition ramps up as the starting spots for Week 1 of action begin to surface, especially for the Texas A&M Aggies.

The Maroon and White competed in an intersquad scrimmage last Saturday, pitting one half of the team against the other as the work done throughout Fall Camp was put on display in a setting that simulated real-time game play.

And after all was said and done on Saturday, A&M head coach Mike Elko had plenty to talk about regarding the makeshift contest. Elko, of course, is never one to stay content with his team's progress.

"Typical First Scrimmage"

Texas A&M Aggies head coach Mike Elko takes the field prior to the game against the Miami Hurricanes during the first round of the CFP National Playoff at Kyle Field. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In his press conference on Tuesday, Elko gave his evaluation on the competition, saying that he was hopeful that the pace of the scrimmage didn't come as a shock to any of the guys, as that is how he tends to pace the camp practices.

"Yeah, I thought that, you know, it was the typical first scrimmage in fall camp. I thought that operationally, we did good," the head coach said to the media. "I think that one of the things about the way that we run camp is that we start operationally from day one, moving at a pace and a speed that is game-like and so hopefully that means there's not a big shock when we get in there for scrimmage one, and there wasn't."

Elko did have one negative aspect to point out, but it was one that he anticipated occurring, with it being the first scrimmage.

"I thought both sides of the ball functioned operationally at a really, really good level," said Elko. "I also thought there was some inconsistency on both sides of the ball. I think that's naturally what happens in a first scrimmage."

"So now, you've got a marker of where you are, and now you've got two weeks to really grind through and get everything where you need to be for the season to start."

Elko also highlighted the progression of his front seven on defense over the course of camp and how they've come along, as well as how competitive it's been between the players in their fight for a starting spot.

"We have a lot of bodies that are capable of going out there and helping us," said Elko. "I think the competition has been really, really intense and it's playing out like we hoped that it would, which was we felt like we had to go elevate the whole level of everything."

"So, we brought in some guys, and we want to see them compete, so you see Ray Coney and Noah Mikhail and Jordan Lockhart out there competing every day trying to earn opportunities to play this year, and all three of them are elevating every day."

Texas A&M opens up its third season under Elko's tutelage against the Missouri State Bears on September 5.

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