Mike Elko Talks How College Athletes Must Navigate Through "Negative Side" Of Social Media
Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko wants his players to be aware of the consequences that could come with social media. Elko took over the A&M football program in 2024 after he was signed away from Duke.
In his first season with the Aggies, Elko led the team to an 8-5 record, tying for fourth place in the SEC. He also managed to secure a bowl game appearance, where they were defeated by the USC Trojans in the Las Vegas Bowl. Now, Elko is preparing this offseason to get his team back on the gridiron in 2025, hoping to take the program to the next level in his second season.
The second-season Aggies head coach sat down with Josh Pate on his program, "Josh Pate's College Football Show," this week. A plethora of topics were covered, but particularly, Elko touched on how he handles social media with his players. Elko emphasized he tries to educate his players on how social media can impact their careers.
"Here's where social media steered kids wrong. Here's some of the pitfalls to it. Here's some of the downfalls of it. And I think the kids now that we have in our locker room are a lot more aware of the negative side of what can come from the choices and decisions they make through social media."
Texas A&M Aggies hope Elko can propel the program to greater heights in the 2025 season
The Aggies moved on from longtime coach Jimbo Fisher after the 2023 season, in which they finished with a 7-6 overall record. The program started the season ranked 23rd in the nation but went unranked from week two onward. After the season concluded, the Aggies hired Mike Elko to fill the void, buying Fisher out of his contract and firing him, paying a $77.5 million price tag to do so—making it the largest buyout in college football history.
Elko was signed away from Duke, where he served as head coach and saw relative success. In his first season with Duke in 2022, Elko led the program to a tie for second place in the ACC, including a bowl game victory against the UCF Knights in the Military Bowl. After two seasons with an overall record of 16-9 and two bowl-game wins at Duke, Elko has now joined the Aggies and hopes to help return the program to its former glory.