Quarterbacks from Texas A&M and Texas ended up at the center of the SEC conversation this weekend, with Marcel Reed sending a blunt message to his critics and Peyton Manning making it clear where his support will land when Arch Manning faces Tennessee.
Reed’s response came after a tough ending to the 2025/2026 CFP for Texas A&M, when the Aggies fell 10-3 to Miami. Reed threw two interceptions, lost a fumble and was sacked seven times in that game. Still, the message he chose to share was about blocking out the noise and leaning on the advice his mother has always given him.
“I’m a quarterback. They haven’t said that for a while,” Reed said.
“I don’t really care what people say. My Mom always tells me, when somebody says something about me, she asks, ‘What’s your name?’
I say, ‘Marcel Reed.’ She says, ‘That’s who you are.’
So I don’t really care what anybody has to say. I’m not worried about it.
I’m just worried about being me.”
That mindset will matter plenty in 2026, when Reed gets a chance to answer the doubts surrounding him. Texas A&M is expected by many to make a CFP push, helped by what is described as one of the weaker schedules in the conference, but the skepticism around Reed has kept people from projecting a serious Aggies run. Reed, though, appears to be approaching the year with a steadier, more spiritual edge as he prepares for what could be a defining season.
There’s also real upside in his game. Reed already brings enough value as a runner to get NFL attention, but if he develops into more of a threat throwing downfield, the conversation around his draft stock could change quickly. In that case, day two of the 2027 draft becomes very much in play.
Meanwhile, Peyton Manning made his own family-first stance public at the Manning Passing Academy in Thibodaux, Louisiana. When asked who he would back in the matchup between Arch Manning’s Texas and his alma mater, Tennessee, Peyton didn’t hesitate to side with his nephew.
“One of the kids was asking me earlier who I was gonna go for. I said, ‘Who do you think?’
And of course, he said that he would go for his school over his relative and I went, ‘Well, you and I are different. You and I are wired differently," Manning said to SportsTalk 790's Chris Gordy.
“Nothing’s more important than your family. Obviously, it’s going to be a huge SEC game.
My dad dealt with it when I was in college, when Tennessee played Ole Miss. I love my university and my alma mater and pull for them unconditionally, but nothing’s more important to me than my family.
When you have a nephew playing, I pull very hard for him every single Saturday. That’s pretty much a no-brainer that you’re pulling for your nephew to play well.”
That won’t sit well on Rocky Top, but it’s right in line with how the Mannings have always handled these kinds of moments. Peyton backing Arch also fits the family’s long-running football story, one built on support, continuity and a presence that has stayed near the top of the sport for more than 50 years.
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One Auburn Staff Addition Could Loom Large At Tennessee
Auburns coaching staff gained a familiar face this offseason in Tim Banks, and his arrival has a little extra relevance with Tennessee coming up on the schedule. Banks is now handling safeties for the Tigers, but his background matters just as much as his title: he spent five seasons with Josh Heupel in Knoxville as Tennessees defensive coordinator, giving Auburn a coach who knows the Volunteers offensive tendencies from the inside.
That kind of familiarity does not guarantee anything on game day, but it can matter in a matchup like this, where small edges are often built in the meeting room before they show up on the field. Banks fit alongside defensive coordinator DJ Durkin could help Auburn sort through that preparation, and the Tigers also have a few other staff ties to Knoxville in the building as they get ready for the trip. [Read more 🡒]
SEC Buzz Builds As Alabama Shifts Recruiting Talk And Arch Stirs Debate
Archie Manning stepped into the conversation around his grandsons first season as Texas starting quarterback, pushing back on the way Arch Manning was judged in 2025. He said Arch was treated unfairly, argued that people had put too much on him before he ever took a snap, and pointed to the way the quarterback settled in and played through the back half of the year.
Meanwhile, Alabamas recruiting momentum picked up again with a commitment that gives the Crimson Tide another early piece in a class that had drawn some scrutiny. For Auburn fans, it is another reminder that the race on the trail never really slows down in this league, and Alabama is already trying to reset the conversation about where its 2027 class is headed. [Read more 🡒]
Auburn May Be Headed For A Bigger Year 1 Than Expected
Expectations are already climbing around Auburn in Alex Goleshs first season, and the early national projections suggest the Tigers could settle into a winning year right away. A CBS Sports forecast has Auburn at 7-5, but there is a growing sense that the roster work done through the transfer portal, along with the programs recruiting push, gives this team a better chance to outperform the cautious outside view.
A more optimistic read of the schedule points toward a stronger finish and even the possibility of a winning SEC record in year one, which would be a notable step for a staff still settling in. The real question now is whether Auburn can turn that offseason momentum into enough conference wins to make the higher-end projection feel less like a ceiling and more like the baseline. [Read more 🡒]