Texas A&M Defensive Back Coach 'Excited' To Continue Seeing Growth

With Texas A&M's game against Mississippi State quickly approaching, Will Johnson from 12th Man Productions was able to catch up with defensive back coach Ishmael Aristide.

Aristide joined the staff in January of 2024 as he helped lead Mike Elko to a program best 5-0 start in the Southeastern Conference. Aristide and Elko coached together at Duke when Elko was the head coach and Aristide was the cornerbacks coach.

"I think coaching is a calling and it's a calling that has been a part of my life," Aristide said. "You know, when I was being born, my dad was actually on the practice field, practicing, coaching."

Defensive Improvements

Through four games, the Aggies sit at 4-0 for the first time since 2016, and it is a huge thanks to the defense. Last week against Auburn, the offense couldn't get going, yet the defense carried the Aggies to their first SEC win of the season, 16-10.

"I think they've gotten better game by game, I think we have to continue to lock into the game plan details," Aristide said. "Continue to practice hard, continue to play hard at the standard that we want to play within the defense. I'm excited about their growth, I think they've all gotten better week by week and I'm excited to get some more young guys playing."

The Aggies have been excellent in the recruiting game, dating back to 2022, when Texas A&M ended with the highest-ranked recruiting class in the country. As Elko has continued to work throughout the offseason, he has brought in many guys who are very capable of making an impact.

"Miles Davis got a chance to play last week, coming back from some injuries," Aristide said. "Dalton Brooks came back from an injury and so getting those guys back into the groove in the way that we want them to play based on the standard of our defense, I'm excited to see that growth game by game."

In the Aggies' matchup against the Tigers last weekend, the defense played a huge role in holding the Tigers to only 10 points as A&M could only accumulate 16 points of offense. The defense had to lock in for one last Auburn drive to secure the win, and that is exactly what they did.

"I was very very proud about how they responded," Aristide said. "But as a coach, you are always looking to be a perfectionist, right? So you can beat the team 100 to nothing and there's going to be 50 things you can find that you want to clean up."