Texas A&M enters Mike Elko’s third season with plenty of buzz, but not much certainty.
The Aggies were slotted No. 8 in the first US LBM Coaches Poll this week after finishing 11-2 and reaching the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history. Even so, the road ahead looks tougher. Texas A&M now has to navigate a new nine-game SEC schedule, and it does so after losing a record 10 NFL Draft selections from last year’s team.
That combination is why some national voices are keeping expectations in check. CBS Sports’ Brad Crawford has not backed off his view that Texas A&M could take a step back in 2026, saying he “wouldn't be surprised” if the Aggies landed at 8-4, or even 7-5 and outside the Top 25.
Speaking with SEC Unfiltered host Chris Phillips, who predicted Texas A&M would go 9-3 with losses at Alabama, Oklahoma and at home against Texas, Crawford pointed to the Aggies’ losses to Texas and Miami, along with the wild 31-30 comeback win after trailing 30-3 at home against South Carolina, as signs that the program had already moved away from its previous identity.
Quarterback Marcel Reed will be central to whatever Texas A&M becomes this fall. In his second full season as the starter, Reed threw for a career-high 3,169 yards, 25 touchdowns and 12 interceptions last year.
But the closing stretch was rough. In the final two losses to Texas and Miami in the first round of the CFP, he threw four interceptions combined and forced too many throws.
The Aggies have tried to give him more help. Alabama transfer Isaiah Horton, a 6-foot-4 receiver, joins a passing game that also features junior wideout Mario Craver, whose twitch and NFL-level speed give Texas A&M another explosive option.
The roster still has question marks, though. Texas A&M’s secondary is viewed as the strength of the team outside of receiver, while four new starters on the offensive line and several transfer additions along the defensive front will go a long way toward deciding whether the Aggies get back to the postseason.
Elko’s own outlook has also shifted with the new extension he signed just weeks before the end of the 2025 campaign. The pressure now is not just to return to the CFP, but to keep stacking nine-win seasons and eventually push Texas A&M toward a national title. Still, with the nine-game SEC slate, chaos is built into the calendar, and more than half the conference could wind up with three, four or more losses.
In Other News...
Texas A&M Has A Backup QB Battle Worth Watching
With Marcel Reed settled in as Texas A&Ms starting quarterback for 2026, the spotlight has shifted to a backup job that could matter more than it usually does in College Station. Redshirt freshman Brady Hart has the early edge in that competition, helped by his early enrollment, some game experience and the physical development that comes with another year in the program. It is the kind of quiet offseason battle that rarely gets the same attention as the starting job, but it can shape how a team handles the inevitable bumps over a long season.
Mike Elko has made clear, though, that nothing is locked in behind Reed. Hart is ahead for now, but he still has to keep improving to hold off the rest of the room, and that is what makes this one worth tracking as spring and summer move along. For an Aggies team with bigger goals in 2026, the difference between a steady No. 2 and an unsettled depth chart could end up meaning more than it looks like in March. [Read more 🡒]
Houston Thomas Is Already Showing Why Texas A&M Needed Him
Texas A&M went into the offseason looking for a tighter fit at tight end, and Houston Thomas arrived with that job description in mind. The transfer from UTSA was brought in to help the offense for the 2026 season, and early fall camp work has given the Aggies reason to think they may have found a more useful piece at the position than they had a year ago.
Thomas has already stood out in practices, flashing the kind of receiving ability Texas A&M was missing in its tight end group. He has been making notable catches against the defense, including one against safety Tawfiq Byard, and the early signs suggest the Aggies may have added a player who can change the conversation around that spot. [Read more 🡒]
Texas A&M Just Added The Kind Of Scorer SEC Teams Fear
Texas A&M is bringing in the kind of proven perimeter scoring that can change how SEC defenses game-plan overnight. PJ Haggerty, one of the top 10 NCAA scorers in the 2025-26 season, is returning to college basketball for a fifth season, and his next stop is College Station after a winding path through TCU, Tulsa, Memphis and Kansas State.
Haggerty has been a high-volume scorer in recent seasons, and the Aggies are getting a veteran guard who has already shown he can carry an offense. He is not the only major scorer staying in school, either, with Juke Harris also opting out of the NBA Draft after two seasons at Wake Forest and choosing to continue his college career with Tennessee, a reminder that the top end of the transfer and draft markets is still very much in motion. [Read more 🡒]