Texas A&M HC Mike Elko using scarcity to keep Aggies motivated

There are a lot of motivational tactics a head football coach can use to keep his players focused through the dog days of summer.

We’re certainly in those dog days of summer right now, but the 2026 college football season is right around the corner. A good coach knows that any preparation that happens in July, and certainly anything that happens in fall camp in August, goes a long way toward success in the regular season.

So how does Texas A&M Aggies head coach Mike Elko go about motivating his players?

For him, it’s all about using the “lack of” at Texas A&M to create a hunger among his players.

The Aggies made the College Football Playoff last season, but Elko doesn’t want anyone around College Station feeling satisfied.

“I show them our trophy case, and it’s empty,” Elko said at SEC Media Days, specifically talking about how he keeps his players hungry (h/t On3). “I think they’re all very aware of that. I think, listen, we live in a lot of worlds, and so we’re obviously happy with the things that we accomplished, we’re happy with the direction of our program. But it’s also not lost on us that we haven’t won the hardware that we’re searching for.”

Mike Elko trying to keep Texas A&M Aggies focused heading into 2026 

The Aggies had a great 2025 season. They went 11-2 and made the CFP. Their season included wins over No. 8 Notre Dame, No. 20 LSU and No. 22 Missouri.

The issue is that they lost their final game of the regular season at No. 16 Texas, 27-17, and that kept Texas A&M out of the SEC title game. Elko’s squad then lost an ugly game in the first round of the playoffs to Miami. It was a disappointing 10-3 loss for the Aggies, and essentially, all the good they did in 2025 was negated.

As Elko said, that trophy case was empty, and he’s using that to fuel his players heading into 2026.

“That gets us into a mindset of growth and getting back to work to go finish this thing a little bit better than we did last year and put ourself in a better position maybe to compete for some trophies,” Elko said.