What Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko said about Notre Dame ahead of Saturday’s matchup

Notre Dame football head coach Marcus Freeman met with the media on Monday, as did Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko and he had plenty of good things to say about this former employer.

The Aggies head coach was asked a variety of questions regarding this weekend’s game against the Irish, and to no one’s surprise, he had high praise for the team he used to coach for. Elko showed that he still respects the Notre Dame program, and had some fond memories of his time there.

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Check out below everything that Elko said during his press conference previewing Texas A&M traveling to Notre Dame on Saturday night.

Comparing Notre Dame last year to this year

”The schemes are similar, I think they’re pretty well entrenched in who they are and what they do. We’re pretty well entrenched in who we are and what we do. That’s always an exciting chess match, when you go into a game like that and you know the other team. I think last year there was a bit more unknown, it was coach (Mike) Denbrock’s first game there as an OC (offensive coordinator) and we didn’t know what exactly it would all look like. It was our first game as a staff, so I think there’s more of that chess match that will go on, and that’s always interesting.”

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How big is this game for Texas A&M

”It’d be not naive not for our kids to understand the magnitude of a top-10 matching on the road, going to play a top-10 opponent on the road. So from that perspective, obviously this is a big opportunity. How big is it, relative to the season? It’s as big as every game we play because, win or lose, there’s going to be more to play, regardless of outcome, the next one will be just as important as the next one. So from that perspective, I don’t see it different but from the standpoint of is this a big stage, big opportunity, prime time, yeah for sure. It’d be naive to say it isn’t.”

On Notre Dame’s secondary

”It’s one of the most talented groups in the country, for sure. Leonard Moore is a kid that we are very familiar with, we tried really hard to get him at Duke, wound up choosing Notre Dame. Obviously had a really good true freshman year for them last year. Christian Gray is the kid on the other side, who we played against last year, and is another really, really talented corner. They play a lot of man coverage, they play it really, really well because they have really talented players there.”

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On coaching his first game at former teams stadium

“In the role that I’m in, given the magnitude of the game, I don’t know how much I’m thinking or contemplating that. Obviously the rosters are different, there’s not a lot of player carry-over, so I think for me, obviously I have a ton of respect for the program, the tradition, the history, that is Notre Dame. I had a great year when I was there, last time, and it’ll be exciting to go back for sure, but I don’t know that the nostalgia is going to be there.”

How do the player harness the emotion of “payback”

”That’s where hopefully, some of the stages and some of the opportunities that we were on last year help. Some of the success that we had beating top-10 teams, some of failures that we had losing some of those games. I think those were all opportunities for us to learn and grow. I think the more you get into these opportunities, you understand the level of emotion that comes into these games. It’s certainly going to feel different, running out of the tunnel Saturday night than an average, normal game, where you’re not playing a team as highly thought of as these guys are. It’s going to feel different, but learning how to handle those emotions, hopefully what we learned last year will help.”

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Difference in Chris Ash vs. Al Golden’s defensive scheme

“I think they’re doing what a smart coordinator would do, there’s a system in place where they’ve played really well, and been really successful at, and so you see a large part of that still in place. Chris has obviously been a very successful defensive coordinator in his own right for a very long time. So, I think you see some of the wrinkles that are his, or maybe more the staples of the Chris Ash defense kinda showing themselves too. I’m sure they’ll continue to try to find the right blend as they move forward based on what they think they need to do to be successful to stop people.”

On preparing for Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr

”He’s a really talented kid. I think he’s got a big arm, you saw that in the spring game, you saw that on his high school tape. Him making his first start on the road down at Miami, those are always challenging situations for a young quarterback. I’m sure he’ll make tremendous growth coming out of that experience, now knowing what the emotions of all that feels like. He played well, he made a lot of plays, I’m sure he’s gonna have plans and hopes to make a lot more Saturday night.”

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Comparing Notre Dame Stadium to an SEC venue

“I think it different, I don’t know how it plays different. The thing I’ve always said to people about Notre Dame is you can just feel the history and tradition. From ‘Touchdown Jesus’ to just the feel in and around the stadium. You feel tradition. You feel history. You feel what that program has meant for so long to college football. And then obviously, they’ve done a really good job with some of the recent renovations to create the modern feel to it as well. It’s a cool place. I think it’s a really unique place, will be a great atmosphere.”

Comparing playing Week 1 vs. Week 3

”All that stuff is even. I think had it been our first game and their fifth game, that’d be a difference, but last year was our first, it was their first. This year it’s our third, it their second coming off a bye week. All that stuff is kind of what it is. Maybe just in terms of the overall quality of football that’s gets played, maybe having a few games under both of our belts will make it a higher quality game, but I thought last year’s game was a really high-quality football game. Two really good teams, making a lot of plays against each other. I expect this one to be very similar.

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On Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price

“It’s as talented as a duo as I’ve played against. The only thing that I can remember in the ballpark, was when I was actually at Notre Dame and we played Nick Chubb and Sonny Michel, that group was really talented, but these two kids are really, really good. Their athleticism for their size, the way they hit the hole, the power with which they run, they’re both effective pass catchers, these two kids are really talented football players.”

On Love’s expected usage

”I’d imagine he’ll be a pretty big feature of what they’ll do Saturday night. That’ll be my guess.”

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This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: What Texas A&M HC Mike Elko said about Notre Dame during his presser