Texas A&M Athlete Shows up in Crutches at Kyle Field After Mike Elko Announced Long-Term Injury

It wasn’t the kind of sight Texas A&M fans were hoping for as they filled Kyle Field stadium with excitement for the long-awaited season opener against UTSA on August 30. Just as the energy was building, all eyes shifted to Mike Elko‘s offensive lineman Reuben Fatheree II, but not for his size or strength. Instead, concern took over. His leg was heavily braced, and he moved slowly, supported by two crutches. The Aggies faithful came to see power and promise; instead, they were met with a moment of quiet worry.

As if Elko did not have enough woes on his plate, walking into the 2025 season. He might have already written himself a reminder on the whiteboard and hung it everywhere in his house, ‘DON’T REPEAT JIMBO FISHER’S MISTAKE’. With his $27 million buyout axe already looming over his neck, Fatheree’s injury could be a big blow to the Aggies.

On August 30, TexAgs tweeted on X, “Texas A&M OL Rueben Fatheree II on crutches:” It was followed by a picture from Kyle Field. Elko’s boys are the No. 21-ranked team in the US LBM Coaches Poll. They travelled to South Bend for a night game in the home opener. The 6’7”, 333-pounder from Richmond, Texas, played on special teams in the season opener against Notre Dame last season. Elko’s offensive lineman helped lead the Aggies’ offense on a 99-yard scoring drive against the Florida Gators.

Cut to 2025, Fatheree was competing for the right tackle position against returning starter Dametrious Crownover. But the universe had other plans, as the battle appears to be on hold as the Richmond native begins his recovery. As Elko informed, Fatheree will be out “for at least the first few games” with a lower leg injury. And guess what? He will be finding someone of his mates, too, who will now be walking the path of recovery instead of running on the gridiron.

The other players on the injured list in Elko’s squad are Jerome Myles and Isendre “Papa” Ahfua. Being a freshman five-star wide receiver, it was Myles’ moment to shine. But tough luck, Elko’s star got sidelined for the season because of a lower-leg injury.  Myles was expected to compete for playing time in a revamped wide receiver room that features three additions through the transfer portal. Elko also confirmed that redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Ahfua will also miss the season due to a lower-leg injury. Without these warriors, how is Elko going to keep himself afloat in the rough sea?

The Jimbo Fisher shadow follows Mike Elko

Amidst all these injury woes, Elko needs to keep one thing in mind. The Jimbo Fisher fallout. On the Drewtamu podcast, the Texas A&M loyalist and insider Gabe Bock tried to help Elko with a road map to survive through the chaos. He said, “You got to have your team ready to play every single game. And the thing about Jimbo is the team wasn’t ready to play every single game. And when you’re not ready to play, you can get punched in the mouth.”

Well, back in 2022, Fisher helped the Aggies pull off a winning season opener against Sam Houston. But at the same time, Appalachian State crushed them in a 17-14 feat and later in the season went on a six-game losing streak. Looks like Elko is walking on a bed of thorns. After all, the Aggies did not think twice before making their six-season head coach Fisher hang up his coaching boots, even if it meant dishing out $76 million. If Elko takes a misstep, it will be easier for Texas A&M to get rid of him, since his buyout sits at $27 million. The dark past and what went wrong for the Aggies was also dug up by Billy Liucci on the TexAgs podcast. 

Walking into this season, Elko’s program has one of the toughest slates in the SEC. They will be facing off against LSU, Arkansas, Missouri, and Texas on the road. Time to expose some old wounds. “The atmosphere got them at Auburn. They came back, took the lead late, but they were down 21-0 to a bad football team to start. And I think the youth got him at South Carolina,” reminded Liucci.

Last season, Mike Elko’s boys went on a seven-game winning streak.  But they didn’t have a sweet ending with a three-game losing streak against Auburn (41-43), Texas (7-17), and USC (31-35). So what does he need to keep in mind moving into the 2025 season? “They got to win on the road. You look at South Bend, you look at Baton Rouge, you look at Austin, but oh by the way, you better look to Fayetteville and Colombia as well if you want to have that type of season. So they’ve got a big jump to make,” said the analyst. So, Elko can’t dwell on the walking wounded, he needs to sharpen his plan to survive the road rage.