Texas A&M's Marcel Reed Earns Major National Recognition

When Texas A&M found themselves down 30-3 at home versus South Carolina, a lot of the blame could have been put on quarterback Marcel Reed.

The redshirt sophomore played one of the worst halves of his young career, going 6-for-19 for 141 yards with two interceptions and a lost fumble. Those three turnovers turned into 17 South Carolina points and buried the Aggies in a massive halftime hole.

Then something changed in the locker room. The Heisman contender we’d seen all season walked back onto the field, and flipped the game on its head. Reed put together a stellar second half, finishing 16-for-20 for 298 yards, three touchdowns, and zero turnovers. He powered A&M to the largest comeback in program history.

Reed’s heroics and final stat line of 439 yards and three scores earned him AP National Player of the Week.

4th-and-12

Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed (10) runs with the ball during the third quarter against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Kyle Field. | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

In the majority of large-scale comebacks, it’s difficult to pinpoint one exact play that changed the course of the game.

For A&M, that moment came on the very first drive of the second half.

Trailing 30–3 and staring at 4th-and-12, Mike Elko kept the offense on the field.

The pocket collapsed almost instantly, forcing Reed to escape and tuck the ball. With one guy to beat to reach the sticks, Reed hit him with a shake, broke free, and dove past the marker to keep the miracle alive.

One play later, A&M found the end zone. It was the first seven of the 28 unanswered points needed to complete the comeback.

From that moment on, Reed and company scored on three straight drives, becoming the first team out of the last 276 SEC programs since 2004 to erase a 27-point deficit.

Marcel Reed for Heisman?

After a chaotic weekend in college football, Marcel Reed has climbed to No. 3 in the Heisman race with +550 odds. The only players ahead of him are Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza (+100) and Ohio State’s Julian Sayin (+200).

Reed’s second half explosion against South Carolina didn’t just rescue Texas A&M’s SEC Championship hopes, it also kept his own Heisman campaign alive.

He now has a golden opportunity to boost his numbers this weekend against the almighty Samford Bulldogs who only have one win on the year.

With the Lone Star Showdown closing out the regular season, Reed still has one final primetime stage to show the college football world why he deserves to become the first Aggie to reach New York since Johnny Football.