A 3-star prospect out of Temple, York burst onto the scene last year with 79 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss and 3 sacks, enough to win him Freshman All-American accolades. It also won him the respect of his teammates, who voted him a team captain this spring.

"It means the world that my teammates think that I'm capable of leading them," he said at SEC Media Days. "The first people I told were my mom and dad, and they said they were proud of me. If they're proud of me, I'm doing the right things."

York and fellow captain Trey Zuhn aren't the only new leaders in Aggieland, as everyone knows. The return of Mike Elko as the team's head coach has meant a seismic shift in how the program is operated.

"We’re not trying to talk about it anymore. We want to be about it and put the work in," he said. "Every day, we go in there with (strength and conditioning) coach (Tommy) Moffitt and coach Elko and try to get better, not just strength and conditioning but football as well."

York knows Elko as well as any player on the team, having been recruited by Elko when he was still at Duke. Even though York picked A&M after they made a late push, Elko clearly made a strong impression.

"I didn’t commit to coach Elko, but everything he said was real thorough. He meant what he said and everything he said he was going to do, he did. He’s a man of his word, and I can respect that," York said.

Not everyone was immediate on the buy-in to Elko, but York said once players realized he meant business, they got with the program.

"It probably took two months. He runs a tight ship. He doesn’t allow for any loose ends. He wants you to be on time. Whenever you have that kind of structure and discipline, it’s easy to buy in," York explained. "It was definitely an adjustment. When you’re used to doing your own thing, it’s hard to get out of your own way sometimes."

A number of big names on the defense were gone before Elko's first practice of the spring -- Edgerrin Cooper and McKinnley Jackson headed to the NFL, and Walter Nolen and Fadil Diggs transferred out. They were replaced by players like Nic Scourton, Cashius Howell, Scooby Williams and Rodas Johnson, who arrived via the transfer portal. Even though the new members of the defense came from across the country, York described their arrivals as being seamless.

"They gel perfectly, almost as if they have been there since day one. They all came in here not with a big head. They just want to help the team win any way they can," he said. "I feel like we upgraded at a lot of positions and losing guys like Coop and McKinnley hurt, but I feel like we replaced them."

Both the veterans and new arrivals will be learning a new defense, as Elko and defensive coordinator Jay Bateman are reverting the Aggies back to the scheme used between 2018 to 2021. That adjustment, York said, has been more difficult than integrating the new players.

"The scheme is a lot for sophisticated. I feel like I've been telling a lot of people, my sophomore year has been harder than my freshman year just because of the level of difficulty of the defense presents itself and the amount of communication that it takes to run the defense," he said. "It's a much different defense, much more sophisticated."

In spite of an offseason of change, York indicated his drive to excel had remained.

"Being diligent in my work (is something people can expect). Doing the things that got me here but also pushing myself harder, because now the hunter has become the hunted. It’s kind of like playing with an X on your back, but I wouldn’t have it any other way … you gotta get them before they get you," he said.