Everything Texas A&M HC said after an impressive Early Signing Day

It was an outstanding Early Signing Day (ESD) for Texas A&M , as the Aggies brought in dozens of top recruits in a stacked class that ranks No. 9 in the country, per 247Sports .

While head coach Mike Elko and company prepare for their undesignated matchup in the College Football Playoff, Wednesday turned everyone's focus to the decisions of the plethora of commits who put ink to paper. Texas A&M has signed one five-star recruit and 24 four-stars in the 2026 class. That list includes athletes like five-star ATH Brandon Arrington , who brings Olympic speed and innate length to the Aggie secondary, while also being capable of playing wide receiver. Versatile recruits like Arrington are located throughout Elko's impressive signing class in just his second season as the head coach of the Aggies, but the job is far from finished.

Here is everything Elko said during Wednesday's press conference, as he recapped the initial 2026 signees and what they will bring to College Station:

Elko's opening statement on what this day means for Texas A&M

"Today is a really exciting day around the country. You say the same things every year, but it never changes. It's a special day. It's a day that a lot of kids dream about," Elko said.

Elko on what the Aggies are most proud of from this recruiting cycle

"What we're most proud of is how strong the commitments were and how early the commitments happened," Elko said. "Those are indicators of the type of kids you're getting."

Elko's overall thoughts on the 2026 signees

"We're really excited with the group that's coming in today. It's great that all but one will be here in January," Elko said.

Elko gives flowers to Texas A&M's recruiting general manager Derek Miller

"Derek (Miller) did as good a job as anybody in the country in getting this thing put together at an elite level," Elko said. "Recruiting is a 24/7, 365 endeavor... He's such a phenomenal leader of that group, and he does a phenomenal job of organizing our efforts."

Elko expresses excitement about the balanced recruiting cycle for the Aggies

"When you get specifically into the class, we always talk about class balance, and that's something that again stands out," Elko said.

Elko on last year's class complementing the 2026 athletes

"If you look at last year's signing class with this year's signing class, you see a two-year class that really complements each other positionally," Elko said.

Elko speaks on the signees still playing football in the playoffs and state championships

"We have 10 kids still actively playing high school football as we sit here in December," Elko said.

Elko's thoughts on quarterback Helamen Casuga

"It starts with our quarterback Helaman Casuga... He was the first commit in the class," Elko said. "He's an extremely accurate passer. We fell in love with the young man, who he is and who the family is... He has been a rock and helped bring other kids into the class."

Elko on the all-time leading rusher in the state of Texas signing with A&M

"At running back, we were able to bring in KJ Edwards... KJ is one of, if not the most, coveted skill players in the state of Texas," Elko said.

Elko's thoughts on wide receiver Mike Brown

"Mike Brown... Mike's an Aggie legacy. His dad, Reggie, played football here. His mom, Kerrie Patterson-Brown, played women's basketball. Mike will leave his own mark on Texas A&M University," Elko said.

Elko discusses the ability of wide receiver Jayden Warren

"Elite, elite speed. Went 10.16 in the 100m last spring, which is extremely fast. He'll be an outside receiver for us," Elko said. "It's one of the most impressive things I've seen in high school tape."

Elko on tight end Evan Jacobson

"Big, athletic tight end," Elko said. "I think he's got an agreement with Bucky (McMillan) to go across the street to see what he can get done when football season ends."

Elko on ATH Kaeden Johnson

"At 6-foot-5, 230, we project him as a versatile athlete in our program. He probably starts at tight end," Elko said.

Elko's thoughts on safety Tamarion Watkins

"He was the really athletic linebacker that we needed. He started his career at safety... Projects as an outside linebacker here for us," Elko said.

Elko on five-star Brandon Arrington

"This is elite length and speed for the secondary," Elko said. "Ran 10.21 in the 100m... As a junior, he broke Noah Lyles' San Diego high school 200m record... As a DB, teams just threw the ball in the other direction."

Elko's thoughts on safety Camren Hamiel

"He projects to come in and play nickel for us," Elko said.

Elko on safety Tylan Wilson

"He's probably the most imposing hitter in the secondary. Realy physical on contact," Elko said.

Elko's thoughts on kicker Asher Murray

"He's got a chance to be a real weapon for us," Elko said.

Elko apologizes for frustrations after Texas loss

"To all the people who spoke up on social media, thank you. I apologize for the outburst last weekend, and it certainly had nothing to do with anything other than that door being open," Elko said.

Elko speaks on the diverse class from last year and 2026

"Over a two-year stretch, you see a really strong balance," Elko said. "You look at diversity within the class and diversity from a two-year class cycle to make sure you have a variety of skillsets that you're continuing to add into the program each year."

Elko on building true, genuine relationships with the players

"Nowadays, you have an opportunity to shape your program however you want," Elko said. "I believe this, and you can't convince me otherwise that relationships still matter."

Elko's thoughts on the importance of recruiting in Houston

"It's critical. When you start recruiting, you always start inside out. For us, the first inside-out piece is here locally in the Brazos Valley, and then the next very obvious piece is Houston," Elko said. "Houston has always been really important to Texas A&M. It will continue to be really important to Texas A&M. That's where we start every year."

Elko on Collin Klein's potential departure to Kansas State

"It's probably not solidified in any way, shape or form yet. The reports tend to precede anything official," Elko said. "When you hire good people, you anticipate those opportunities will come... If we're going this right, that will be a piece of it, no different than losing players to the NFL."

Elko provides more comments on Warren

"He's a steal only because of this arbitrary star ranking that he has. We think he's phenomenal," Elko said. "We for us, we think he's an elite football player. He has electric speed."

Elko speaks more on the Klein situation

"That would be the expectation. Some of the conversations we've had have led me to believe that that would be the case," Elko said.

Elko on Klein's abilities as a coordinator and personality

"First of all, he's a phenomenal person. It starts there. He's a phenomenal leader. He's a really smart football coach. He's a really competitive guy," Elko said. "When you're around really good people, at some point, those opportunities are going to present themselves, and you're really excited when they do."

Elko's vision of building the best culture

"Every roster takes on a different demeanor. How you go about building culture with each team is important," Elko said. "The reason more schools are recruiting nationally than ever before is because the world is more connected than ever before... There's a lot of ways for people to connect nowadays."

Elko on what Texas A&M looks for in players

"What we like is kids who have multiple skillsets. When you see kids who have played multiple sports in high school, you know they have multiple skillsets. Most of them don't envision themselves being multi-sport athletes at Texas A&M," Elko said.

Elko on being ranked at No. 7 in the CFP rankings

"As a football coach, put a ball down, let's go play... We're going to be in the playoffs, and we're going to compete for a national championship. From a CEO standpoint, we're all screaming for some clarity. What exactly is the criterion we're using to break ties," Elko asked.

Elko's thoughts on the lack of clarity in how rankings develop

"It would be nice if there was a little bit of clarity in the process... It's amazing how many people want to say we've played a poor strength of schedule when we have the 15th-highest strength of schedule in the country," Elko said. "Let's look at the analytics and the numbers to make some of these decisions."

Elko on recruiting the West Coast

"It's important. When you think about the SEC being the premier conference in the country and kids come out here to see a game day atmosphere at Kyle Field compared to some other places, it's very attractive," Elko said. "There is a natural draw for the State of California to come here to Texas."

Elko's thoughts on quarterback recruiting

"It's the hardest challenge to hold on to your depth... We're trying to be very deliberate to make sure we get one in every year that we feel really good about," Elko said. "As long as we're in a position where we can do one a year, we feel we can keep the cupboard where it needs to be."

Elko on if Texas A&M should be hosting a playoff game

"Do I think we deserve to host a game? Oh my god, yeah. Do I think we will host a game? I have no idea what they're going to do," Elko said.

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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Texas A&M HC Mike Elko recaps Early Signing Day