On today's episode of Locked On Aggies, host Andrew Stefaniak breaks down what Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko had to say to the media about Arkansas, especially their quarterback Taylen Green. The Razorbacks QB is quick and can move with his legs, so the Aggies need to be ready.
Stefaniak went on to talk about the Aggie's matchup with the Arkansas defense and talked about whether or not this defense is any good. He feels the Aggies will be able to move the ball against Arkansas.
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[MUSIC PLAYING] It's the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Well, we got a minute. I'm going to buy that truck I've been wanting. Wait, don't you need, like, weeks to shop for a car? I don't. Carvana makes it super convenient to find exactly what I want. Hold up. You're buying a car on your phone? Isn't that more of a laptop thing? You can shop wherever you want. I like to do my research. Read reviews, compare models. Plus, Carvana has thousands of options. How'd you decide on that truck? Because I like it. Oh, that is a great reason. Go to Carvana.com to sell your car the convenient way. Texas A&M head coach, Mike Elko, previews how the Aggies are going to try and stop Arkansas quarterback, Taelyn Green. You are Lockdown Aggies, your daily podcast on the Texas A&M Aggies, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome on in to Lockdown Aggies. I'm your host, Andrew, is Tofani Act. Thanks for making Lockdown Aggies your first listen every single day. Today's episode is brought to you by Fandal. Place your first $5 bet and you'll get started with $200 in bonus bets guaranteed visit Vandal.com to get started. On the show today, ladies and gentlemen, we're going to talk about some quotes from yesterday's press conferences. Most importantly, talk about the offensive Arkansas, how the Aggies are going to stop it. We're going to talk about, is Arkansas's defense legit or is it good because I'm not so sold? And then I'm going to reiterate what I was trying to discuss yesterday with Marcel Reed. I think some people weren't fully picking up what I was putting down. So we're going to run through that one more time with the tail end of the show today. But getting right into it, the first thing here that I want to talk about from Coach Elko's press conference is his thoughts on quarterback Taelin Green. So first, his thoughts on using a spy against Taelin Green, he says, it's way more complicated than that when you try to do first and second down within each of your coverage structures is figure out who the guy that needs to pay attention to them as the play develops. We're a little bit fortunate because we had some protection for this against Notre Dame, you know, getting ready for Riley Green and Riley Green for Riley Leonard and what he does with his legs. But, you know, I think Taelin Green, man, I'll tell you, he made some mistakes. Last Saturday, he wasn't perfect, but he can move the football. He can move the football with his legs. He can get it down filled with his arm. I think Coach Patrino's doing a great job of helping him develop. And I'm just telling you, this offense is capable of scoring some points. Now, you could also look at it on the flip side and say, "Well, Auburn turned the football over 416 times." And they were only, Arkansas, they were only able to manage 24 points. And that's true too. And I, Texas State and Defense, I think is substantially better than Auburn's, you know. And so, the point here is this. I don't, I think that maybe Arkansas, I think their offense is good and is explosive, but I think Texas A&M can stop them. I don't think that it's gonna be a game where the Razorback score more than 25, you know, 28 points. I gotta, like 21, I think Oregon's already losing a score like 21 points. And they're a solid offense, that's, as a defense, if you win this game and you give up 21 points, I think you feel very, very good about that. And then Coach Elko went on to say this about Tailing Green. When a player has the ability to make explosive plays, it enhances your focus level from play to play. Regardless of down and distance area of the field or situation, he has the ability to create a play down the field. There's a lot he can do. He's got a strong arm, he can push it down the field, he can run. And, you know, it's definitely something that Texas A&M needs to be ready for. Because he, when you have that type of guy, his athleticism, it's different than Marcel Reed's and it's different than Connor Wigman's. I think that Marcel, or that Tailing Green is more of an explosive runner than Connor Wigman. It's more of a threat than Connor Wigman, but I, and I don't think he's as explosive as Marcel Reed, but he's also six foot six to 30, and he's able to kind of, once he gets that going downhill, he's like a Josh Allen, Cam Newton, and I'm not comparing him to those guys when it comes to the other aspects of the game, but I'm talking about running, you know, once he gets moving, he's a large quarterback. So yeah, I think a huge key to victory for the Aggies is gonna be stopping this guy, because if he has a good game, we've talked about him. He's already almost to 1,000 yards through the air, he's got a ton of yards on the ground. He's able to make something explosive happen every single time the football touches his hands. So, you know, a huge key all week for the Aggies defense needs to be getting ready for Tailing Green. And I think Coach Knuckle makes an incredible point talking about how preparing for Riley Leonard does, will help prepare this defense for what Tailing Green brings to the table. So, I think the Aggies are fortunate there, but you gotta be ready, you gotta know what he's able, what he can do with his legs and with his arm, because he's very capable of making magic happen with his legs and with his arms. So the Aggies have got to you ready for Tailing Green. - Coach Oco went on to say this, about the offense, about square margins. Offensively, we've been a little bit more balanced. We've scored on the first row of each game, which has been good. We have had balanced halves. Defensively, we've been much more lopsided and we're doing things the right way. Are we making the right adjustments? What has happened? What has been very similar play types against similar looks? Where we do it the way we're supposed to, and in the second half, we just don't. We talked about that yesterday. Second half, I pulled up the numbers. I think it was, you've given up 73 total points in 30, 40, 50, 70, 50, 90, 60, 60, one, 60, 60. 64 of them have come in the second half. I believe the numbers don't call in. I'm not gonna pull it back up, but point is, the Aggies you've given up a lot of second half points, and that is a losing recipe. So I agree with Coach Oco, this is something that they need to get dialed in over the next few weeks, because once again, that will lose you close football games. Coach Oco had this to say about Conrad when he said he'll be a game time decision. This is just the most interesting quarterback situation I've ever seen, because this AC thing, this is not, it's not a fun thing to deal with when you're trying to throw and move and play football. It's not an easy injury to deal with. This is not one you wanna rush back from, especially playing quarterback. And when he's healthy, what are they gonna do? I just, this is really interesting to me. We're just gonna have to see, but as of right now, I am planning on Marcel Reed being the quarterback for the Aggies on Saturday. So I think that is what we all need to kind of prepare for mentally. And we'll see what happens when we get to the Thursday, Friday practice reports and stuff like that. Coach Oco went on to say this about the ANM Arkansas series of late, he said, the environment plays a role. Kids play their best football on that stage. Everyone gets excited to be playing in that stadium who wouldn't, well, I added who wouldn't, who wouldn't have been an awesome place to play football. We always seem to get their best. We try to get, we try to get them our best. When you do that, you get some exciting, entertaining, close games. From my perspective, they weren't that entertaining because they were always too close. So, you know, Coach Oco's like, I don't wanna be playing those tight games and I'm with them. So, yeah, this series we talk about, it's been a weird one, it's been a close one. I think Texas A&M maybe, could they have ended that narrative last year, perhaps? I think this is a football game and we're gonna talk about how important it is here in segment two, but I mean, this is a huge game and we'll get more into that. So, Coach Oco had this to say about 2024 being the last Southwest Classic at 18th Stadium. He said, we'll play wherever we have to play. I don't have a strong opinion. It's always a cool environment when you have split fans, but I certainly see what both teams want, the fourth home SEC game. I agree with that 'cause it does take away an SEC game and that stinks a little bit, or a home SEC game, you know what I'm saying, for one team. And that is just somewhat unideal. We're gonna move on, we're gonna talk a little bit about is Arkansas's defense legit? We're talking about how important this game is, but I also wanna talk a little bit in segment two about Coach Oco's quote on Moose, Muhammad. It was a really interesting one and we need a deep dive into it. We love that conversation coming up right here, unlocked on, Aggies. But first, I wanna tell you about our friends over at five hour, energy. Five hour energy fixes tired fast, whether you have a long list to do for work or a list of do-it-yourself projects to tackle at home. Take a five hour energy shot so you can check everything off your list. 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This offers only valence as number 30th on one order and cannot be used to the promotions. The code is not good on subscription orders. Go to fivehourenergy.com today. (upbeat music) - Well, we got a minute and I'm gonna buy that truck I've been wanting. - Wait, don't you need like weeks to shop for a car? - I don't. Carvana makes it super convenient to find exactly what I want. - Hold up, you're buying a car on your phone? Isn't that more of a laptop thing? - You can shop wherever you want. - I like to do my research. Read reviews, compare models. Plus, Carvana has thousands of options. How'd you decide on that truck? - Because I like it. - Oh, that is a great reason. Go to Carvana.com to sell your car the convenient way. - So, moving on here in some of these quotes from Coach Elko. Yeah, this is about Moose Muhammad. And this was an interesting one to me. I think there's some writing on the wall on this one. So he says he has to be consistent. That's what we're looking for from him. You know, I think that Coach Elko has gotten pretty good at coach speaking things that he feels he needs to coach speaking and not coach speaking things he feels he doesn't need to coach speaking. I think that here, he really didn't want to dive any deeper into this. It sounds like Moose needs to be more consistent to get on the field more. That's just the reality. So, you know, getting on the field board, get more targets, that's just the reality here. And I don't think it's the, you know, I think you're really talented at that position. You got Barbara, I mean, you got a lot of guys back. You got a lot of young guys. There's a lot there. I mean, listen, if we all love Moose, but if he just isn't the answer receiver, he just isn't the answer receiver. I mean, this is now two years of weird stuff going on with him. So if that's just the reality now, it's just the reality now. So I think that if you need to move on and play other people, that's what you got to do. So that'll be something interesting to monitor over the next few weeks. Coach Elko also had this say about the offense of Arkansas. Right now they're a top 10 total offense of the country. But you know, has been playing at a very high level. I agree with that. This team offensively, you know, is, is going to need to get dialed and need to get things figured out. I mean, defensively against the offensive Arkansas because I think it's pretty, pretty good. So those are most of the quotes. I have another quote we're going to run through with Marcel Ray. We'll talk about it here in a minute. We'll get to talking about him here in segment three. But right now, I want to talk about the Arkansas defense. So is the Arkansas defense good or is the Auburn offense terrible? I think that is the debate early into the season. So Arkansas, you play Arkansas Pine Bluff when that game 70-0 kind of right it off. You then give up 39 points to Oklahoma State. I mean, now it was an overtime game. So how many did they score heading before overtime? Oklahoma State points at overtime. So they still put up 31 points without overtime. And I'll tell you, then they give up 27 points to UAB in a win. And then they give up 14 to Auburn. But what I will tell you about this Auburn team is while it didn't, this game, I mean, a lot of times with this Auburn Arkansas game from last week, Auburn moved the football a lot. I mean, look at this. They had 285 passing yards, 400 sections. And then they had 146 rushing yards. So, you know, I mean, they moved to the football. The turnovers were what caused the improblems, which that's something crazy, which is great for the Aggies because if Auburn is awful that couldn't, that's a win. You'll be interested in the schedule is one that we thought was going to be a lot tighter maybe. So that would be very helpful. But the reality here is I don't, I don't think this defense is very good. I think Texas A&M should be able to move the football. I think there's people to score points. I think that they should be able to put a lot up in this game. And then if your defense, which is really good, is able to stop tailing green and the rest of this, you know, this offense, I think that you're used to win this football game. So I think people are going to look at what, and I mean, some of those throws from the Auburn quarterbacks against Arkansas, like my point is, I think a lot of people are going to be like, man, the Arkansas defense was a lead against Auburn. Some of these throws were just so awful. Like, I don't even know how to put it in respect of like, they were just so terrible. Anyone should have been able to pick them off. It wasn't like anything special, the Arkansas defense, it was kind of just like, oh, thanks man. I'm sitting right here and you threw the ball right to me. Appreciate it. Like it was, that was the reality. So when once again, Auburn moved the ball and that's what, and I think that Texan, whether it's Connor, whether it's Marcel Reed, is going to take care of the football a lot better than we saw from Auburn last weekend. And if they do that and they move it and they score points, I think the Aggies are going to win this football game. So, you know, that's kind of my thought here on this defense is, I think that people are going to be quick to be like, man, their defense is pretty good. I don't think it is. I think that Texas A&M should be able to move the football and I think they should be able to score points. So that is my thoughts on the defense. And then before we move on to talking a little bit more so Reed, I do want to talk about, I just think this is a huge game, ladies and gentlemen. I mean, like, let's take a little schedule update where we're at. The Aggies currently are three in one. You've still got a lot of huge games. You got Missouri at home, which is an early kickoff by the way, which is just insane to me. You've got Mississippi State on the road, Dallas U at home at South Carolina, New Mexico State at home at Auburn, and then Texas at home. I'm just telling you how awful Auburn looks. South Carolina's got some quarterbacks banged up and interesting stuff going on there. And obviously, New Mexico State is terrible. I'm telling you, I think if you take care of business, it gets Arkansas, a team that I don't think is necessarily great, but I think that they've been better than I thought so far this year. If you take care of business in that football game, I think you're putting yourself in a really, really good position for the rest of the season. So this is just a huge game, in my opinion. I think if you win this game, you're four in one, I think you've got wins still on the board against, in all honesty, Mississippi State, Auburn, New Mexico State, for sure. So I think you win this game, you're four in one, you've got three wins there, you're seven in one, obviously there's games between. Then you find a way to beat South Carolina, which once again, I think is a very, very, very beatable football team. And you find a way to take down one of those three Missouri LSU in Texas, you can win nine football games. You're back in on that train, but right now, the key is beating Arkansas. To do this, you have to beat Arkansas, which I think they're very capable of doing. So that's why this game is so huge. This feels like the difference maker. If you win this game, I'm back in on nine wins being a legit possibility. So you've got to go win this football game. I think it's a must win. I really do think it's a must win. Now, I mean, it's hard to say any game is not a must win, but if you want to overachieve, your path to doing so gets a whole heck of a lot easier if you win this football game, because I mean, I really think you're set up in a great position. So win this game. And I think nine wins is very, very much on the table for the Aggies, with an outside chance of getting the team and maybe sneaking in the playoff, but that's on the outside looking in there. But you've got to win this week for that to even be a possibility. So huge, huge win this week for the Aggies would be awesome. We're going to talk about Marcel Reed and, you know, I want to reiterate some points from yesterday and breaking things down. We'll have that conversation coming up right here, unlocked on Aggies. Hey, NHL fans, you can start the season with a big return on Fandal, America's number one sports book. So when you get a hunch in the middle of the game, you can check out the latest stats, view live play by play, and so much more on the same page where you place your bets. You'll get started with 200 of bonus bets, guaranteed when you place your first $5 bet. So last night got a huge win on Fandal in the NFL games. James Cook and Jamar Chase, first touchdown scorer parlaid, put $5 really wish I had to put more, huge win on Fandal. I love doing those when there's two Monday night games. It's just a ton of fun. But you got NHL stuff going on right now. The NBA playoffs are coming around the corner. You've got a lot of exciting things to bet on over at Fandal right now. So visit Fandal.com right now to go see America's number one sports book and the sports of partner of the lockdown podcast, Network. Did I hear you're shopping for a car? Because I've been at it for ages, such a time suck, right? Not really. I bought it on Carvana, super convenient. Oh, then comes all the financing, research, am I right? Well, you can, but I got pre-qualified for a Carvana auto loan in like two minutes. Yeah, but then all the number crunching in terms, right? Nope, I saw real numbers as I shopped, found my dream car, and got it in a couple of days. Wait, like you already have it? Yep. Go to Carvana.com to finance your car the convenient way. So yesterday I talked about Marcell Reed. And, you know, you know, y'all, every day I share a lot of tonight, you know, that I'm willing to admit when I think I may be over, when I think I'm wrong, when I'm overstated something, I don't think I'm wrong with what I was saying yesterday about Marcell Reed. I do think maybe I made it sound a little more extreme, and that could potentially be in the title of the show yesterday. But, I mean, if you watch back that film from yesterday or from Saturday, I mean, Marcell Reed did a lot well, and a lot well, he always does. But there's a few throws. This is the point. You were playing Bowling Green, okay? When we were playing Bowling Green, you're not playing Missouri or Texas or, heck, even Arkansas, I mean, you know, you're playing Bowling Green, who's okay, you know, the non-huge team, right? I mean, they're fine, but still. And there was just a lot of throws, there was some inaccurate throws that I think can lose you football games against really good teams. The reality here is, you know, we don't... Marcell Reed played a fine game, he took care of the football, he ran the ball again, he did a lot well. Of course he did, and I reiterated it yesterday. What I'm saying is, if you want to beat some teams that are better than you, some of those throws he needs to make. That's my whole argument. I'm not saying he played terrible because he didn't. He did a lot well. He moved the football on the ground. He moved the football through the air. He could have been more accurate throwing the football. And once again, I mean, for a quarterback to overachieve for a football team to overachieve, you've got to be accurate throwing the ball. That's how you're going to win games. And there were a lot of, once again, just passes that I think we're just a hair off that in more significant games against better football teams could lose you games. That's my whole point. All I'm saying, I love Marcell Reed, he's played great. He stepped in and been really good for this football team. I mean, heck, once again, he is 2-0. He's looking to make a 3-0 this week unless somehow Connor comes into play. So that's my whole argument is I think there were a few throws where he missed a guy by a hair. That's a throw. You really need to hit in some really important games once you deeper in SEC play. That's my whole argument on Marcell Reed. I think I was a little strong in the wording of some of the stuff. I agree with y'all on that, but still, I do, I'm not going to say, yes, he was incredible, he was great. There were some throws he could have made that I think will make a difference in more significant games. That's my whole argument there. That's going to do it for today's episode of Lockdown Aggies. Thank y'all so much for being here every single day. Really, really, really appreciate y'all. Hope everyone has an outstanding rest of their day today. And we'll see you tomorrow right here, unlocked on. Aggies. A Prime Member. You can listen to this Lockdown podcast ad-free on Amazon Music. Download the Amazon Music app today.
