Nov 30, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies head coach Mike Elko reacts during the third quarter against the Texas Longhorns at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Texas A&M's Mike Elko Details Is Very Familiar With Utah State's Head Coach

Originally posted on Texas A&M Aggies on SI
By Jon Alfano | Last updated Sep 1, 2025 7:17 PM ET

If football is like a chess match, then there's perhaps no greater advantage for coaches than knowing their opponents' tendencies.

Yes, even more important than winning the physical matchup is winning the mental one. Whether it be an offensive coach figuring out how to dissect a sturdy defense, or on the opposite side of the coin, a defensive coach learning how to shut down a high-octane offense, it's hard to oversell just how important it is to learn how coaches operate.

In that regard, Texas A&M Aggies head coach Mike Elko has a bit of a head start for this week's opponent.

Mike Elko, Bronco Mendenhall in for Intriguing Chess Match

During Monday's press conference, Elko spoke extensively about his relationship with Utah State Aggies head coach Bronco Mendenhall. While the two aren't too familiar with each other personally, they did go head-to-head during their time in the ACC.

"You know, Bronco Mendenhall is there now as their head coach, known Bronco for a long time, just following his career, not as much personally, but just following his career," Elko told reporters. "Obviously, a tremendously successful head coach. Did a great job at BYU. We coached against him when he was at UVA and I was the defense coordinator at Wake Forest, and so I've always kind of followed his program from afar. This will be the first time going against him [as a head coach]."

As Elko alluded to, Mendenhall has been around for a while. He established himself as a successful head coach at BYU, then took over at Virginia and enjoyed some modest success, even leading the program to its first-ever Orange Bowl in 2019. After a two-year break from coaching, he returned last year to lead New Mexico's program before taking the Utah State job this offseason.

Like most new coaches nowadays, Mendenhall is working with a pretty much all-new roster this season. However, his style lends itself well to working with different roster constructions.

"I think these opening games are more and more challenging every year because between roster schemes, you don't have a great pulse or feel for what you're getting into," Elko said. "And so we've just kind of learned how to be ready to adjust and adapt. I think that's literally what it comes down to so much in these games. He's a tough, hard-minded head coach, and I think his teams kind of show that. There's a blue-collar toughness about how they play. They play extremely hard. They play extremely physically. And they're very disciplined."

Texas A&M and Utah State will kick off from Kyle Field at 11:45 a.m. CT on Saturday.

This article first appeared on Texas A&M Aggies on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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