Texas A&M HC Mike Elko’s reminder should get Aggies fans excited ahead of Arkansas SEC matchup

Rueben Owens is set to go off against Arkansas in just his sixth career start for Texas A&M

Travis May — College Football Managing Editor

Oct 16, 2025 5:22 PM EDT

Mike Elko shared a hopeful, yet also disappointing update on the running back room this week when it was announced that Le’Veon Moss would be missing significant time with an ankle injury. Hopeful, because Moss isn’t likely to be done (completely) for the season and the Texas A&M aggies backfield is still in good hands.

Coach Elko reminded media and fans this week just how stacked the running back room is (with four talented RBs healthy), and that perhaps most importantly Rueben Owens is still just scratching the surface of the special player he could become.

Rueben Owens becoming a complete RB, ready to break out

Rueben Owens, for those who may have forgotten, was a five star running back recruit considered by many to be a top 30 player in the entire 2023 recruiting class when he joined Texas A&M. He was supposed to be next big thing for the Aggies, and actually earned a significant role right away, albeit in a stacked running back room. Coach Elko has loved what he’s seen in Owens’ development this season, especially considering how little he’s actually been on the field with A&M due to injuries in prior years:

“I think Rueben [Owens] is trying to become a complete back. And I think one of the things that maybe gets lost in the Rueben story is he hasn’t had a tremendous amount of snaps in his college career. He played at El Campo, where he dominated high school football. He came in, played as a true freshman, but was in a crowded backfield. He was ready to have a big year last year, and then obviously the injury set back the season. And so this is really the first time you’re seeing an upper class college version of Rueben Owens playing healthy. And so I think it’s everything. I think it’s his ability to run the ball. I think it’s his ability to pick up things in pass protection. He’s obviously a really gifted player in the route game. I think he has just really been focused on becoming an elite back or a complete back, and I think he’s doing that at a really high level.”

Rueben Owens has played in just 21 games throughout his three-year career with the Aggies because he just can’t avoid the injury bug. He was dinged up throughout his freshman season, battling through some minor injuries, then missed virtually all of 2024 with major injury.

He’ll log just his sixth start with the Aggies on Saturday, but he’s already been playing like Texas A&M’s best running back in spurts throughout his entire career, especially this season. He’s logging a full yard more per touch than Le’Veon Moss and forcing more missed tackles than any other running back on the team by far. Owens already had one breakout game against Mississippi State, where he racked up 160+ yards from scrimmage. Fans should expect more of that this weekend against Arkansas.

Texas A&M will likely still roll out all three of their other talented running backs in Jamarion Morrow, Amari Daniels, and EJ Smith if the game script goes according to plan, but not before Owens likely deals some major early damage on the ground, and perhaps through the air.

Marcel Reed might also open things up with his running game a bit more too, if need be, considering he has yet to fully unleash his wheels like he did in 2024. Regardless, expect plenty of work and success on the ground overall since Arkansas ranks outside the top 100 in several defensive categories, including 124th in rush success rate allowed.

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