"People have matured": Texas A&M HC Mike Elko takes a unique stance on the impact of social media on college athletes

Mike Elko appeared on an episode of the “Josh Pate College Football Show” on Thursday to discuss his and the program's ambition for the 2025 college football season. The coach had a noteworthy season with the Aggies in 2024, missing out on the SEC title game in the final week.

One of the topics Elko discussed with Josh Pate was the influence of social media on student-athletes' decisions, especially in the age of NIL. While the impact of social media is still largely criticized within the landscape, the Texas A&M coach sees progress in the overall usage.

“I think people have matured through the social media age a little bit,” Elko said. “And like everything, when it becomes new, when it becomes fresh, there's a lot of growing pains that you go through, and I think a lot of programs, a lot of kids went through this.

“And then you have this large group of life lessons you can teach through the mishap of other people, unfortunately. ‘Here's where social media steers kids wrong, here's some of the pitfalls to it, here are some of the downfalls of it.’

“And I think the kids that we have now in our locker room are a lot more aware of the negative side of what can come from the choices they make through social media.”

Social media has reportedly been a part of the decision-making of college football players over the years, especially when it comes to commitment, transfer portal and NIL among others.

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Mike Elko explains how familiarity with Texas A&M helped out in his first year

Prior to his hiring as Texas A&M's head coach, Mike Elko served as an assistant in College Station. He was a defensive coordinator for four years under Jimbo Fisher before taking the Duke head coaching job. He said on the podcast with Josh Pate that this aided his job in the 2024 season.

"I had a little bit more of a working knowledge of the program, the players, where things were, I maybe had a little bit better pulse on what were some of those knots, what were some of those things,” Elko said (04:45).

“I was able to talk to the kids right off the bat about, 'Okay, I know where you want to be. I know where we are. Here's just some of the things I think can help us get where we want to go.'"

Mike Elko enters his second year at College Station with a lot of anticipation as the Aggies aim to compete in the SEC. A host of analysts, including Josh Pate, has suggested the coach could be the one to elevate Texas A&M to the next level in the landscape.