Marcel Reed Has 'Taken The Step' Texas A&M Was Hoping For This Offseason

After Tuesday’s fall camp practice, head coach Mike Elko responded about what he saw from his quarterback .

There were no words that he uttered that were not true about how his game has elevated from last season, and Elko spoke on how he believes Marcel Reed hasn't gotten the credit that he truly deserves going from last year into this season at Texas A&M.

“I think first of all he took care of the football more last year than anyone has given him credit for,” Elko mentioned. “A lot of his picks from last year that took that number to where it went were end-of-game, pressing games trying to catch up. I think that there are times where you are going to put the ball at risk more naturally, so for a large part of the season, I think he protected the ball really well.”

Before Week 1 of the college football season begins, a lot of the chatter has been about how Reed didn’t take care of the football enough, especially after how he finished out the last couple of games where the Aggies dropped their games, which is why there has been some hesitation from others about how he will progress going into the 2026-27 campaign.

Elko & Co. believe he has taken the steps he needed to take going into Year 4 in Aggieland, and that he is looking much more relaxed operating the offense and carrying himself. He acknowledged the skills he has displayed in fall camp and that he appears more confident in his routine.

“I think he has taken the step we hoped he would take,” Elko said. “I think he is much more comfortable. Much more confident. Knows the reads. Knows what the progressions need to look like. I think his footwork looks cleaner. The ball delivery looks cleaner. Again, excited for him.”

Next Steps

Marcel Reed Texas A&M Aggie — Jul 22, 2026; Tampa, FL, USA; Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed (10) speaks to the press during SEC Football Kickoff Media Day at the Tampa Marriott. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Now that Reed has gone through the spring and nearly completed fall camp, it is his time to shine again and put his team in contention for another College Football Playoff ticket. To do so, though, he has to take care of the football and rely on his teammates to assist him so the program can take that next step.

The “Gingerbread Man” discussed how he'd done with turnovers lately and how he has taken care of the football, showing that Elko’s comments are the real deal.

“I’ve not turned the ball over,” Reed said after talking to the media this past week. “I think I have done a really good job with that.”

As long as he can get off to a clean start where he doesn’t make those errors early on that put his team in jeopardy, this A&M team is trending in the right direction to be another threat down the stretch of the season.

It all comes down to not only limiting turnovers but also getting an all-around team effort to power the program to the next level.

Last season, Reed had 12 interceptions and accidentally had four fumbles, which cost the offense a couple of times, but with a new offensive coordinator at the helm, great things are coming soon with those turnovers an area to clean up.

The Nashville native touched on how having Holmon Wiggins hasn’t brought a ton of changes, but there are multiple areas where he and the offense can create different looks.

“There aren’t too many differences, but coach Wiggins has expanded it a little bit,” Reed said. “I have said this before, but he was at Bama, one of their pass game coordinators when he was over there, so just having all those guys translate it from those guys to the guys we have now, we can do a lot of different things.”

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