On Thursday, former NFL linebacker and 12th Man Cullen Gillaspia joined us on TexAgs Live to share why he is excited about the 2025 Fightin' Texas Aggies. Gillaspia highlighted Mike Elko & Co.'s development of team culture, the returning players and more.
Key notes from Cullen Gillaspia interview
I finished up my NFL career in 2022 with the Seahawks and hurt my knee halfway through. I've had five surgeries and two years of fun-employment, as my mother calls it. Six to eight months ago, I got into the oil and gas industry. I'm a salesman and learning the new industry.
It's a Maxx Crosby jersey behind me. Crosby and I trained together in the combine in Scottsdale, Arizona and became good friends. We played each other in Week 3 of our rookie year and did a jersey swap. It's a rookie Crosby jersey. On the front is where he signed it.
I got all the Aggies’ jerseys that played in the NFL. Armani Watts, Josh Reynolds, Jace Sternberger, Kingsley Keke, Otaro Alaka and all the Ags that played in the NFL. Crosby is one of the cool ones with his career path. He's a top-three pass rusher in the NFL. This dudes on a different level of fame and on the front row of HBO specials.
So when you play football in the NFL, you're not quite as in tune with college football because on Saturdays, you're in and out of meetings. It's harder to keep up, and you've got so much on your plate. It's a lot of talking trash in the locker room. When we beat Alabama, we had our nightly meetings, and I was at the Giants at the time. There were 10 Alabama guys on the roster, and I remember being up. It was the “Battered Aggie Syndrome,” and we are going to be down and don't talk trash. We come out of meetings and go, "Oh, wow!" It was one Aggie vs. 10 Alabama guys. It was me with my guns out, looking at the other team. Post grad, now that I have a job, I am way more invested. You can imagine how passionate I am as a player. A loss as a fan is worse, and winning is better as a player. I'm so bought in, it hurts. It ruins an entire week.
I think it's the first year we haven’t come in with the hype that we should be the No. 1 team in the country and that it's playoffs or bust. That’s been the mindset the last few years. It's hard to do with a changing quarterback and how much that room has rotated. We returned 15 starters and the entire offensive line. I've been a Marcel Reed believer since day one. I think another year in Collin Klein’s offense and they're starting to gel together, figuring out what Reed does best and how to call plays best for him. Klein got better at that as the season went on. I'm excited to see what he can do.
It’s year two with Mike Elko. I'm excited to see what he can do, and Cashius Howell with the defensive line, who is arguably the most productive player with 100 fewer snaps than Nic Scourton. Taurean York is an immeasurable player with what he does on and off the field. We have a lot of returning and recruiting momentum. I have been watching Elko out of a clinic and what he has done this summer. I'm drinking the Kool-Aid. Last year hurt. In the group chat, we weren't going to talk about it. But now we are in the dog days, and the hype train is coming.
The biggest thing with Elko is that you don’t hear crazy stories of people in the locker room getting in trouble. Elko is developing the culture and improving on the leadership he has developed. I like York and Reed as leaders and how Reed is growing in his career. I think there is not a lot of talk and not a lot of show. As Elko has grown, they have grown with them. When I speak with the guys around the program, it’s always about accountability. The players are keeping each other accountable. Last year didn't turn out the way they wanted, but they are improving as a unit. Reed’s Instagram post says that when there are high aspirations, if you're going to do those things, you have to believe in yourself. I'm excited to watch him grow, and I'll come around training camp and check it out. Elko is not scared. He's hungry and on the boys right now.
For the 2014 Texas A&M vs. South Carolina game, I was going through rush at a fraternity house, drinking Miller Light. While I was on the team, I was cheering for the team. With the Auburn game that same year, I was deer hunting with one of my buddies. I watched both games on TV as a walk-on.
To win those games on the road, I loved feeding on that environment when you have the fans screaming back at you. My antics on the field were more outgoing, and I talked back to the fans. We had a tough, hostile environment that year. That's when you bend your team to find your accountability and toughness. That will to win comes from the team. You're not feeding off the stands, the crowd and the energy of Kyle Field, which are great things. I think the noise factor on Kyle Field is hard, but teams prepare for that. Fans have a big impact on the game. Even on the road, you have to find it on your team. You can't focus on the surrounding area. It's not a flashy offseason on the recruiting front, and the guys are looking inward to be the best team they can be.
Elko carries and connects with his guys. I think you see time and time again as a defensive coordinator for former players like Buddy Johnson, Leon O'Neal Jr. and Otaro Alaka, everyone is always talking about Elko’s second-half adjustments. The way he communicates with his players is special. I spent three days on defense before switching to offense, so Elko's relationship with me was more personal. I know there's a deep respect for the players that play for him. In year two of his system, with a quarter of the guys being under him when Jimbo Fisher was there, after a year in his system, with Reed and Klein gelling with the offense, I expect to see big improvements across the board. It happens naturally when coaches and players progress.
I can remember going into training camp as a freshman walk-on. It was a big deal that I made the 105 roster, which meant only 105 players went to training camp. Some of my walk-ons I grew close with didn't get the same opportunity. I'm not sure how 140 guys were on the team. I thought it was 85 scholarships. If your scholarships now have 105 guys being a walk-on, you've got a chip on your shoulder. You are a glorified hitting dummy, and go into spring training playing with the ones, then a recruit comes in. It breeds grit in you, and you have to stick it out. That being said, if it bumps up and 25 more guys get scholarships now, I would be on that list. There are more guys who will get scholarships out of high school, and it will open up the playing field now. It will be tough, and maybe teams will do 100 scholarship guys and give 10 to walk-ons. I don't know how it will work. It's a weird thing to talk about and how it relates to the 12th Man. I was a walk-on for two years, and the last three years were on scholarship. I'm interested to see how they carry the tradition.
Outside of football, I say I'm more casual about college baseball and basketball in terms of how fanatic my friends are. I loved watching baseball, and I'm locked in on the basketball team and March Madness. Playoff basketball is great, and seeing them in March Madness is great. I would catch a baseball or basketball game a week, but to say I'm in the weeds as I am in football would be grapes in the straws there. I think the postseason in any sport is great to watch. I was in Greece last year and almost flew from Greece to Omaha to watch the baseball games. The process changed, and I didn't end up making the trip. I keep up with all the sports.
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