Mike Elko Downplays Marcel Reed's Ankle Injury Against the Texas Longhorns

The Texas A&M Aggies were driving down the field midway through the first quarter against the Texas Longhorns in Austin when the last thing that any A&M fan wanted to happen happened: quarterback Marcel Reed went down after being tackled, and it took him a bit long to get back to his feet.

Reed would miss the rest of the drive, which resulted in kicker Jared Zirkel's field goal attempt being tipped, but after jogging and cutting down the sideline, he was under center for the next drive for the Aggies.

Unfortunately, Reed followed it with one of his more lacking performances in the year, failing to score a passing or rushing touchdown for just the second time on the season, and throwing two costly interceptions late in the fourth quarter to seal the team's fate.

Elko Doesn't Believe Injury Affected Reed's Play in Austin

While many would chalk up Reed's less than average showing to the early ankle injury, Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko made it clear shortly after the game that he was not one of those people.

Texas A&M Aggies head coach Mike Elko looks on during the third quarter against the Florida Gators at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

“I don’t think the ankle affected him,” Elko said. “I think he still ran the ball well. Until we got to the end of the game, I felt like he was doing the things we needed him to do. I thought we didn’t do a very good job of keeping clean pockets for him, and I feel like it got very, very gray for him trying to find routes and receivers. We’ve got to do a better job with that. But that’s kind of where we’re at.”

Reed threw for 180 yards on 20 completions and rushed for 71 yards during the loss, with his two interceptions coming on Texas A&M's last two drives of the game, the first coming from Texas safety Michael Taaffe with 3:41 remaining in the fourth quarter, and the second coming on the first pass of their next drive right to Kobe Black with 2:32 left, just after the A&M defense had forced a three-and-out to keep their shot at a win alive.

The loss at DKR last Friday took the Aggies from No. 3 to No. 7 in the rankings and out of the SEC Championship game for the second year in a row, but still kept them well above the cutline for the 12-team College Football Playoff, which they will need Reed fully healthy for.

The Aggies will receive their orders for the CFP during Selection Sunday this upcoming Sunday, with playoff implications riding on the SEC Championship between the Alabama Crimson Tide and Georgia Bulldogs Saturday afternoon.