As the sounds of Meek Mill’s “Dreams and Nightmares” blared over the speakers at Kyle Field on Tuesday, the Texas A&M Aggies kicked off their 16th practice of preseason fall camp.
Soon enough, those stands will be filled with the excited Maroon and White faithful, who are eager to witness the product that head coach Mike Elko will put on the gridiron in his second year at the helm. According to GigEm247 reporter Carter Karels, the program is focused on the simple things like cutting off the music for the first few periods of practice to hone in on their craft, which is something different compared to former Aggie head coach Jimbo Fisher’s traditions.
Suppose Elko’s squad seeks to make history by leading Texas A&M to the program’s first playoff appearance. In that case, it is going to take Collin Klein’s offense and Jay Bateman’s defensive system playing at an elite level against the best competition in the country.
At this point in the offseason, it sounds like a broken record, but the Aggies’ 2025 schedule should not be ignored. The Southeastern Conference has no shortage of talent, and a non-conference road contest at Notre Dame is a game with a massive red circle on the calendar for the Aggies this season, after dropping last year’s contest 23-13 in Bryan-College Station, Texas.
As kickoff against UTSA nears with the passing of each day, here is what cornerback Desmond Ricks, tight end Theo Melin Öhrström and Bateman said following practice Tuesday:
Rick’s take on growth heading into the 2025 season
Ricks talks competition in Texas A&M’s CB room
Ricks on communication among secondary
Ricks talks about Elko’s involvement in defense
How Ricks ended up at Texas A&M
Ricks’ relationship with Bateman
Ricks talks goals for 2025 campaign
Ricks on A&M’s wide receiving corps
Öhrström on the physicality of the TE room
Öhrström talks relationship with Marcel Reed
Öhrström speaks on role in Klein’s offense
Öhrström on relationship with Boerkircher
Öhrström talks Aggie offense as a whole
Bateman on defensive line
Bateman talks Scooby Williams and Taurean York
Bateman discusses third-down defense
Bateman speaks on Aggie depth on defense
Bateman on defensive communication
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 Dylan on X: @dylanmflippo.
This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Everything Texas A&M players, DC Jay Bateman said following preseason practice
Reporting by Dylan Flippo, Aggies Wire / Aggies Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
