"We're blessed with four really talented backs": Texas A&M coach Mike Elko brags about depth of RB room heading into 2025 season

Texas A&M coach Mike Elko feels confident about his team's running back group heading into the upcoming campaign. At the SEC media days on Thursday, Elko praised senior running back La’Veon Moss, who was leading the conference in rushing before suffering a season-ending injury in 2024.

Moss had tallied 765 yards, 10 touchdowns and averaged 6.3 yards per carry before getting injured. He’s reportedly fully healthy now.

"There's a lot of quality in that group,” Elko said. “It starts with Le'Veon Moss, who was on his way to being the leading rusher in the conference and was one of the leading rushers in the nation when he got injured."

Moss won’t be carrying the load alone. The Aggies also return Rueben Owens, Amari Daniels and EJ Smith.

"We're blessed with four really talented backs, and you need them because, in this conference, they come and go really fast,” Elko added.

Owens, a former five-star recruit, also dealt with injuries last year. He tore his ACL during fall camp and only returned for brief appearances in the Texas and USC games. While he couldn’t play to his full capacity in those games, he’s now fully recovered.

Smith, a transfer from Stanford, is also in full health, which is good because when healthy, Smith was one of the most productive dual-threat backs in the Pac-12.

Daniels was in the primary backup role after Owens was injured, and finished the '24 season as the lead back when Moss was sidelined. He is also expected to return with full health.

Offensive coordinator Collin Klein has four strong options at running back to work with.

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Mike Elko believes Texas A&M will do great in the 2026 NFL draft

Not only is Mike Elko confident about the RB depth, but he is also assured the team will have a big year in the 2026 NFL draft. During his session at the SEC media days, Elko said:

"We should get to double digit NFL draft picks this year. That’ll be the first time Texas A&M has done that in a very long time.”

Mike Elko made a similar comment in May, saying the current roster has more NFL potential than the program has seen in years.

In the 2025 draft, only three Aggies were picked in the first two rounds, partly because several excellent players returned for another season instead of going pro.

Edited by Ribin Peter