Mike Elko at SEC Media Days 2024: 3 interesting things Texas A&M HC said at Dallas event

Mike Elko appeared at SEC Media Days 2024 on Thursday as Texas A&M's coach for the first time in his career. He was a former defensive coordinator for the Aggies before taking the head coaching job at Duke for two seasons.

Elko now returns to Texas A&M as the head coach after the Aggies fired Jimbo Fisher last season. He'll be faced with the difficult task of leading the program in a loaded conference that added Oklahoma and Texas this year.

Here's a look at three interesting things that the new Aggies coach said during SEC Media Days 2024 in Dallas, Texas.

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3 interesting things Mike Elko said during SEC Media Days 2024

Texas A&M coach Mike Elko at SEC Media Days 2024 (Credit: Brett Patzke-USA TODAY Sports)

#1, Rivalry with Texas

Texas A&M will be able to restore its rivalry with Texas thanks to the Longhorns' move from the Big 12 to the Southeastern Conference in 2024. An early question for Aggies coach Mike Elko during SEC Media Days 2024 involved his sense of how important that rivalry is to the program.

"In my four years at Texas A&M, even though we never played and were in the same conference, it still was the single most important thing it seemed like to Texas A&M," Elko said. "That's a rivalry that means an awful lot to our fan base, to the program, the history of the rivalry, and the tradition."

Elko's four-year stint as the Aggies defensive coordinator (2018-21) occurred while Texas was still a member of the Big 12. Therefore, the teams never played one another during that time, but now they'll get a chance to reignite one of college football's most intense rivalries.

The last meeting between A&M and Texas took place on Thanksgiving in 2011, which resulted in a 27-25 Longhorns victory.

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#2, Recruiting battles

The recruiting battles between Texas A&M, Texas and Oklahoma have been prominent dating back to when the teams resided in the Big 12. Now that all three once again compete in the same conference, there is a true battle for recruiting supremacy.

During SEC Media Days 2024, Elko was asked if he believes that Texas A&M is in a worse spot in terms of recruiting now that all teams compete in the SEC.

"No, I don't think so," Elko said. "There have been recruiting wars in this state between those three schools that probably started before I was born. It certainly continued as my time here as the defensive coordinator, and I'm sure it will continue into the foreseeable future."

The state of Texas has been considered a hub for top college football recruits throughout the years. Many schools outside the state have joined the recruiting battle for top Texas recruits.

Elko also said that A&M is one of the state's flagship programs and they can compete on and off the field to become the top college football program in Texas.

"We have two great brands in this state," Elko said. "And the nice thing now is we're in the same conference, and we play each other. That stuff will get settled in recruiting battles and on the field. We believe we have an infrastructure and the resources at Texas A&M to be the premier football program in the country."

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#3, The expanded College Football Playoff

The College Football Playoff will be expanding from four teams to 12 this season. This was seemingly done to give schools from smaller conferences a chance to earn their shot at a national title.

During SEC Media Days 2024, Mike Elko discussed his thoughts on what the expanded CFP will mean for SEC programs.

"Spending four years in this conference, there were a lot of years where I felt like there were more teams deserving of being in the playoff,” Elko said. “I thought at times, certainly for us in 2020, I feel like this conference has clearly established itself to be the premier conference. Now, what you have is more access.

"I think if you look at the College World Series as a model, more access has led to a lot more all-SEC semifinals, all-SEC championships. I believe you are going to see something similar in the College Football Playoff."

Alabama was one of the four teams to make the CFP last season and the only team from the SEC. The top 15 teams in the final 2023 CFP rankings featured seven teams that will be competing in the SEC this season.

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What do you think was the most interesting thing Mike Elko said during SEC Media Days 2024? Let us know in the comments.