Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko isn’t interested in offseason hype when it comes to Marcel Reed. As Week 1 arrived, Elko made it plain that the only evaluation that matters now will come when the games start and the lights are on.
Asked about the quarterback’s progress, Elko pointed straight to Saturdays. “Those questions are so loaded because, at the end of the day, what Marcel has to do is go out there and play consistently on Saturdays,” Elko said when asked about his quarterback’s improvement from last year.
“The real answer to that is since the end of last season, I haven’t seen him do anything because we haven’t played a game. He works really hard.
He’s gotten better. He’s got a better command of the offense, but he’s got to go out, and we’ve got to play.”
That blunt answer cuts through a summer of conversation around Reed, who took a clear step forward in his second season as a starter. He finished last year with 3,662 total yards and 29 touchdowns, showing he can stress defenses both through the air and on the ground.
Even with that production, the next jump is still out there. Reed threw for more than 3,000 yards, but the passing game still had its rough edges, and efficiency has been the word hanging over his offseason.
His 62.1 percent completion rate ranked 13th among SEC quarterbacks, while his 77.9 QBR placed fifth. He also threw 12 interceptions, ending the year with a 3.2 interception percentage.
For Texas A&M, the path forward is pretty simple: cleaner work in the short and intermediate passing game would go a long way toward making Reed more efficient in the offense. But Elko’s message wasn’t just about his quarterback. It was about the entire team.
“That’s not him, that’s everybody. The reality of this thing is we’ve done what we’ve had to do to get to this point,” Elko said.
“Now, it’s time to go play. When we go play, we’ll figure out who we are.”
Reed gets that first chance Saturday, when the Aggies host Missouri State at Kyle Field. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. CT.
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