Mike Elko highlights importance of shedding entitlement on journey to success
By Ethan Stone
Published:
Mike Elko made a wise point while sitting down with college football analyst Josh Pate to talk Aggies football entering the 2026 season.
The conversation of interest started when Pate asked the Texas A&M head coach about the process it takes to achieve greatness in sports. Pate contextualized his question by pointing out the abundance of sports success stories you can find on the internet, and wondered how Elko keeps his players focused on the hard work and commitment it takes to actually achieve those goals.
Here’s what Elko had to say:
“We talk about that a lot. Okay, you see the 4-second highlight you’re chasing, you see the draft and the guy walking across the stage at the NFL draft, that stuff is on your feed constantly… how we getting there? At team meetings, it’s the old ‘if you wanna go to the NFL, raise your hand’…. it’s everybody, and it’s a reminder, like, just so you guys know, everyone and every team across America is doing this right now, it’s the people that are gonna leave this team room and do something about it that are gonna ultimately accomplish things.”
“Pulling entitlement out of players has always been a big part of growth. You only grow when you don’t feel you’re entitled to success. But now with NIL, it’s probably even harder to pull the entitlement away, but it’s critical because you have to understand that you only get success through work, that’s the only way you’re going to find it.”
Elko and Co. didn’t perform too well in the College Football Playoff, but the Aggies did take a noticeable jump from Year 1 to Year 2 under Elko. The Aggies won 11 games and won 11 straight games to open the year before flaming out in the final weeks of the season, losing to Texas by 10 in Austin and Miami by 7.
Several Aggies took Elko’s advice from above and will play their first season in the NFL in 2026. Here’s a quick look at the latest odds for certain players to be selected in the top 10 of next year’s draft:
Ethan Stone is a Tennessee graduate and loves all things college football and college basketball. Firm believer in fouling while up 3.
