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Texas A&M Joins 3 Other SEC Teams as Finalists for Elite Safety

Mike Elko is valuing all aspects of offseason development from transfer portal dominance to recruiting masterclass. A trend is starting to show with how Elko likes to attack a certain defensive position for their 2027 recruiting class.
JJ Walsh|
Texas A&M Aggies head coach Mike Elko looks on prior to the game against the Florida Gators at Kyle Field.
Texas A&M Aggies head coach Mike Elko looks on prior to the game against the Florida Gators at Kyle Field. | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

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Texas A&M Aggies

Most of the offseason talk around Mike Elko and the Texas A&M Aggies has been directed toward transfer portal performance. The Aggies did very well in the portal signing veteran SEC playmakers and beefing up, thinned out trenches.

An underrated achievement of Elko, since becoming the head coach for Texas A&M, is his recruiting strategy. The 2026 and 2027 recruiting classes are loaded.

The 2027 class is ranked No. 2 in the country, per. 247Sports. They have signed eight 4-star recruits so far with five being on the defensive side of the ball.

Picking Up What Elko is Putting Down

The Aggies are hoping to get 4-star safety Kenneth Simon II coming out of Brentwood Academy in Brentwood, TN., per Rivals and On3:

Simon is 6-2 190 pounds. He played safety and linebacker in high school. Being a hybrid safety prospect in today's game is valuable and Elko is hoping to bring him to College Station.

Simon took a visit an unofficial visit with Texas A&M on November 15th, 2025.

Elko has two 4-star safeties already locked up in the 2027 class. Safety Jayquan Snell from Waxahachie, TX, and Kamarui Dorsey from Hampton, GA.

Elko is working alongside Defensive Coordinator Lyle Hemphill to attack this certain position on defense.

We are seeing college football and NFL teams start to really embody the nickel corner and nickel safety position in modern defensive schemes.

Simon played in the box most of his junior season at Brentwood Academy and could be a monster nickel. He can blitz effectively, keep up with slot receivers, and cover the running back angle.

The Seattle Seahawks have rookie safety Nick Emmanwori from South Carolina who has transformed their defense. The Seahawks are about to play in the Superbowl and Emmanwori has played a big role. He also played linebacker in high school before being converted into a hybrid safety with the Gamecocks.

Simon compares eerily similar to Emmanwori and it begs the question, is Elko bringing in a high quantity of safety prospects to fill the nickel and two high schemes? Hemphill would have a blast being able to sit a safety at the line of scrimmage without getting burned on short third downs.

If Simon decides to go commit somewhere else, the Aggies have Dorsey. He could also be effective at nickel, further confirming a trend where Elko is not overlooking any changes in football.

He was ahead of the curve with a model that takes advantage of the transfer portal, and he continues to be ahead by acquiring surplus of important positions.

Texas A&M currently projects at no.10 in preseason rankings for the 2026 college football season per. ESPN. Elko will work alongside offensive coordinator Holmon Wiggins and defensive coordinator Lyle Hemphill. Elko's control and awareness of how to run a program effectively is fun to watch.

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J.J. Walsh
JJ WALSH

JJ Walsh is a writer for Texas A&M Aggies On SI. Walsh joined the team in 2025 and is excited to cover Texas A&M Sports. Walsh is a current Junior collegiate golfer at Texas A&M University-Texarkana, where he is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Political Science. He previously earned his associate’s degree in Journalism from North Central Texas College. Walsh grew up surrounded by Longhorn and Aggie fans as he grew up in Dallas, TX. He loves covering football and basketball. You can find Walsh on Instagram at @_jjwalsh

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