The Texas A&M Aggies will be looking for success in the 2026 season the same way they found it last year, including making the College Football Playoffs for the first time in school history.
That task for head coach Mike Elko, though, is only tougher, as many of the key pieces for the team’s 2025 postseason run have graduated and gone on to the NFL Draft. With a retooling process now through the spring and into fall camps, there will be multiple new faces on the team.
Some of the contributors this season are returning faces, now seeing a bigger role on the team, and will be integral to the success in 2026. That includes linebacker Noah Mikhail, who could be the breakout defensive star of the year.
The Signs Are Already There
For the Aggies, the success they found last year was built on the back of one of the best defenses in the country, which has become the norm since Elko took over in College Station. Now tasked with rebuilding that defense, the roster features an array of talent ready to take the next step and show what they can do when given the chance.
Mikhail is the perfect candidate who fits that mold. After beginning last season during his true freshman year primarily on special teams, he quickly showed the coaching staff why he was one of the top recruits out of California, and he received early rotational minutes in the linebacker room.
He immediately seized that opportunity, becoming one of the best tacklers in the program, finishing with a grade of 86.2 last season according to PFF. In 13 games played, he finished with 16 total tackles, six of them solo, and 2.5 tackles for loss.
That momentum was carried over into the spring when he caught an interception and showed off his quickness to score a touchdown in the Maroon and White Spring game. That development, and with the flashes he showed last season, Mikhail has clearly taken steps in the right direction.
Perhaps more importantly for the Aggies as well, after the injury to Daymion Sanford in the spring game, there is a desperate need for another linebacker to step up to the opportunity alongside Ray Coney. Mikhail looks to take that role and show why he could be the next great defensive player to come through College Station.
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