Mike Elko says bye week goal is to get healthy for ‘stretch run’
By Mark Kern
Published:
Mike Elko and the Texas A&M Aggies are coming off a dominating 49-25 victory on the road at LSU in Week 9, and their reward is a bye in Week 10.
The Aggies are undefeated at 8-0, and are currently the No. 3 team in the country. The team is set up as well as any team in the SEC to make a run at the conference championship, as well as the College Football Playoff.
The bye couldn’t come at a better time for the Aggies, and Elko said the team’s focus now is getting healthy for the upcoming stretch run.
“Health is much more at a premium right now. The first bye week came so early in the year,” Elko said. “There were still a lot of things we were trying to develop and clean up.” “This week, coming off of five straight SEC games, the premium is staying sharp, staying crisp and staying at our level, but maybe some of that is pulling back the physicality just a little bit to get our guys healthy for the stretch run.”
The Aggies’ first bye of the season came on Sept. 20, which was after the Week 3 victory against Notre Dame. That was before the start of a grueling SEC schedule, so the team was in need of one.
Running back Rueben Owens and offensive lineman Chase Bisontis are two guys who could especially use byes, as they are banged up a little. Elko was asked about both of those guys, and he gave positive updates.
“We’re going to be fine,” Elko said about Owens.
He followed that with another assuring answer on Bisontis, saying ‘he’s great.
The Aggies will be back in action on Nov. 8 when they travel to Columbia to take on Mizzou.
