Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed deserves more credit, Mike Elko says

COLLEGE STATION – Texas A&M coach Mike Elko wants people to have a greater appreciation for starting quarterback Marcel Reed.

“I wish people would spend more time studying him and watching him and seeing how good he really is,” Elko said during his Monday press conference. 

“As he continues to move up the all-time passing record at Texas A&M, and he starts to move past some quarterbacks who are very successful quarterbacks here and viewed as very successful quarterbacks here, I wish people would start to appreciate who he is, what he does and how successful he’s been for us as a starter.”

Following Saturday’s 50-0 season opening victory over Missouri State, Reed sits in seventh in Texas A&M history passing yards and passing touchdowns and fifth in total touchdowns responsible for. Only Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel ranks ahead of Reed in total offense per game and passing efficiency rating. Reed is also the only quarterback to lead the Aggies to the College Football Playoff.

When asked for one aspect he wished people would appreciate more of Reed’s game, Elko said “all of it.”

“How good of a quarterback he is. How much he helps us win football games. How successful he’s been. How many yards he throws for. How many yards he runs for,” Elko said.

One person who had plenty of praise for Reed was Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham.

Dillingham said during his Monday press conference in Arizona that people don’t give Reed enough credit for his “unbelievable touch” in the intermediate passing game and on the deep ball. He also highlighted the difficulty in sacking Reed.

“Then you can tell he’s gotten way more comfortable in true dropback passing,” Dillingham said.

Reed started his senior season completing 21 of 30 passes for 233 yards and two scores, along with a couple of key scrambles for positive yardage, in the blowout victory over the Bears. 

Saturday’s win, played in front of a record crowd (107,782) for a Texas A&M season opener, moved Reed to 16-6 as a starting quarterback for the Aggies.

“I thought there was a lot of progress in him going through progressions and reads,” Elko said. “I thought there was a lot of progress in the timing and how the ball came out of his hands. Obviously completing a very high percentage of his passes was good. That was a big emphasis for him and for us.”

Expectations were high for a more-consistent and less-turnover-prone Reed entering the season. He made the watch lists for the Maxwell Award, the Walter Camp Award and the Davey O’Brien Award but didn’t make ESPN’s list of the top 100 players in college football or any of the preseason All-SEC teams.

One game against an overmatched opponent won’t change many minds. But Reed has at least 11 more games to turn more people to Elko’s point of view.

“I still have stuff I need to improve on,” Reed said Saturday night after the win. “But I think for the first game, for the most part, I did what I was supposed to do. I’ll go look on Sunday, like I said, and just make the adjustments I need to for going forward.”

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This article originally published at Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed deserves more credit, Mike Elko says.