Texas A&M won the Cotton Bowl during Kevin Sumlin’s first season in 2012, which was the same year Aggies quarterback Johnny Manziel dazzled his way to the Heisman Trophy.
The Aggies finished fourth in the country during Jimbo Fisher’s third year, the COVID-altered season of 2020, so there has been some recent success in College Station.
Mike Elko’s second year at the helm was different. Texas A&M reeled off 11 consecutive wins to open last season and entered December with a chance at the national championship by qualifying for the College Football Playoff, though that wound up a short stay when the Aggies were bounced at home by eventual runner-up Miami.
“We had 11 wins on the field for the first time in a really long time for our program,” Elko said Wednesday afternoon as the Southeastern Conference’s media days continued in Tampa. “We made our first playoff appearance ever. We led the NCAA with 13 players represented at the NFL combine, and we led the SEC with 10 players drafted.
“Those are the markers of success we want our program to become known for year in and year out. We have talked a lot about Texas A&M becoming a program that people talk about the success that we have on and off the field, not what we’re capable of being.”