The Boys Deserve Their Due

Now I’m not one to start handing out trophies just because somebody looks good on paper, but after this season, there are four of my beloved Aggies who’ve flat-out earned some hardware. They didn’t just show up—they showed out. And in a sport where effort still counts for something, that means a lot.

Mike Elko – Coach of the Year
Mike Elko has done something special. He’s taken a bunch of kids who used to hope to win and turned them into a bunch who expect to. You can tell when a team takes on the personality of its coach—and this one has. They play smart, they play mean, and they finish what they start. Elko doesn’t blow smoke, he just builds programs. He’s old-school in the right ways and innovative when it counts. That’s coaching in its purest form. You want a Coach of the Year? Find the guy whose team plays at a championship level every single week. That’s Elko to a tee.

Marcel Reed – Heisman Trophy
Marcel Reed isn’t just good—he’s electric. He’s the kind of quarterback that makes you hold your breath every snap. The kid can throw it a mile, read a defense, and when everything breaks down, he’s gone like a deer through a fence gap. But the stats only tell half the story. What really makes him special is his poise. When the moment’s big, he gets calm. When the game’s tight, he gets better. You can’t coach that. You’re just born with it. And that’s why Marcel Reed deserves the Heisman—he’s not just the best player on the field, he’s the one everybody came to see.

Cashius Howell – Defensive Player of the Year
Cashius Howell doesn’t play defense—he declares war. You can double him, chip him, or try to run away from him, but one way or another, he’s still going to find the football. He’s the kind of guy who makes offensive coordinators lose sleep on Friday nights. He plays with a motor that never cools off and a mean streak you can’t fake. Howell isn’t just the best defender this year—he’s the standard every other one’s chasing.

Daymion Sanford & Taurean York – Butkus Award Contenders
Now, if you grew up loving the game, you know what the Butkus Award means. It’s for linebackers who don’t mind a little contact. Is there a better pair of linebackers in college football? Damien Samford is quick enough to run down a screen, strong enough to stone a pulling guard. Taurean York is smart enough to call the right check before the snap. Why? Because he studies so hard before games that he knows what they are going to run before they run the play. Every great defense has a heartbeat—and York’s it. He’s the kind of linebacker who makes everybody around him better, and that’s the truest measure of greatness.

The Bottom Line
Football’s still about toughness, leadership, and heart. It’s about guys like these—players and coaches who don’t make excuses, don’t cut corners, and don’t back down. Awards don’t make them who they are, but they sure do remind the rest of us what excellence looks like.