Mike Elko highlights similarity between transfer portal and NFL free agency
Texas A&M coach Mike Elko believes there are stark similarities between the NCAA transfer portal and NFL free agency. The transfer portal has given players the freedom to move between programs at will, significantly altering the recruiting process from years past.
Speaking on "Josh Pate's College Football Show" on Thursday, Elko explained how the transfer portal has become similar to NFL free agency and how it has changed his approach to recruitment.
"When you're dealing with the portal, (it) is much more of NFL free agency. You know, here's our need, here's what we can do to help you get where you want to go, here's your skill set, here's how we see it fits, here's how it complements.
"I mean, it's very much an NFL-style conversation in so many ways, when you're recruiting out of the portal, as opposed to when you're trying to talk about taking a 16-year-old out of his house for the first time, and how you're going to nurture, take care of him, develop him, grow him as a man, help him get a degree — that's a completely different recruiting."\
Elko also acknowledged that the two recruiting worlds occasionally overlap, especially when a player a coach previously recruited enters the portal.
"Sometimes it's a kid that you developed a great relationship with in recruiting, who is now in the portal, and now it's just kind of a mix of both. 'Hey, you remember, we trusted each other, we developed this relationship. But here's where now, this is the right place for you, and here's the things that we can do to help you.'"
Looking at how Texas A&M has fared under Mike Elko
Texas A&M hasn’t won a national championship since 1939. After Jimbo Fisher’s disappointing tenure as head coach, fans hope Elko can turn the program around and return the Aggies to national prominence.
Elko was hired from Duke, where he served as head coach for two seasons. During that span, he led the Blue Devils to back-to-back winning seasons, securing bowl victories in both years.
In his first season at Texas A&M, Elko guided the program to an 8-5 record, finishing tied for fourth in the Southeastern Conference and earning a bowl game appearance. The Aggies’ season ended with a Las Vegas Bowl loss to USC in late December.
Now, with a full season under his belt as head coach of one of the most storied college football programs in the nation, Elko aims to elevate Texas A&M to new heights in 2025.