Texas A&M’s fall camp has reached its halfway point and head coach mike Elko seems satisfied with how things are going.

“I thought operationally we did good,” Elko said of the Aggies’ first scrimmage of the fall. “I think one of the things about the way we run camp is is is we start operationally from day one, moving at a pace and a speed that is game-like, and so you know that hopefully means that there’s not a big shock when we get in there for scrimmage one, and there wasn’t, and so I thought both sides of the ball functioned operationally at a really, really good level.”

Even though his team is coming off an 11-2 season and a spot in the College Football Playoff, Elko kept his praise at a moderate level. The Aggies lost four starters on the offensive line and three more on the defensive line and, while the Aggies appear to have found capable replacements, there’s still room for uncertainty.

“if you had just lost the O line and you knew what the D line was, or you just lost the D line and you knew what the O line was, we’ve got two groups battling that are all relative unknowns, right? And so I think until you get to September 5th and start rolling it out there against competitive people, it’s it’ll be a little bit of a wait and see,” he said.

When discussing the defensive front seven, Elko said he expects the Aggies will have more than enough talent to succeed.

“I think we have a lot of bodies that are capable of going out there and helping us. I think the competition has been really, really intense,” he said. “It’s playing out like we hoped it would, which was, you know, we felt like we had to go elevate the whole level of everything, and so you brought in some guys and you wanted to see them compete, and so you see (linebackers) Ray Coney and Noah Mikhail and Jordan Lockhart out there competing every day, trying to earn opportunities to play this year. And I think because of that, all three of them are elevating every day. I think you got the same thing at (defensive) end, you got the same thing at D-tackle, and so it’s been good. It’s been really competitive. I think we’re starting to see it rise and the level rise to where we want it to be, and you know we’re you know getting close to halfway through camp, and it’s got to keep going.”

Elko also gave a positive review on quarterback Marcel Reed, who has been the target of national media scorn for his struggles in the final two games of the season. Reed’s head coach clearly has a different viewpoint on his play.

“For a large part of the season last year I thought he protected the ball really well, and even down the stretch, outside I thought the worst game was South Carolina. I thought outside of the South Carolina game a lot of that was pressing type situations, but I think he’s taken the step we hoped he would take,” Elko said. “I think he’s much more comfortable, much more confident, knows the reeves, knows what the progressions need to look like. I think his footwork looks cleaner, the ball delivery looks cleaner, and so, yeah, again, excited for him.”

Reed will lead an offense that Elko believes will be able to put up a lot of points in 2026, as it has plenty of depth at receiver, running back and tight end.

“I think we’ve got a lot of weapons. I think we’re trying to figure out creatively how to get the ball to to the guys that we think can help impact the game. And I think again, at those skill positions, you’ve got a lot of capable people fighting and scratching for touches,” he said.