Texas A&M Star Marcel Reed Disrespected in Top-10 Quarterback Ranking

Playing quarterback in college football is difficult. Playing quarterback in SEC, and playing it at a high level, is even tougher.

Marcel Reed on the other hand, had the best season of career in 2025, guiding the Texas A&M Aggies to an 11-0 start and the program's first appearance in the College Football Playoff. After the hot start, he was placed in the Heisman conversation before fizzling out at the end of the season.

After his performance, though, Dave Campbell's Texas Football's list of the top-10 quarterbacks in the state of Texas placed the Aggies signal-caller as the sixth best option in the state for the 2026 season, placing him as the fifth-best Power Five quarterback in the state.

Results Over Projections

Texas A&M Aggies Quarterback Marcel Reed — Dec 20, 2025; College Station, TX, USA; Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed (10) looks on during the game between the Aggies and the Hurricanes at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Reed was electric last season for the Aggies, finishing 25th in the country in passing yards with 3,169 and 19th with 25 passing touchdowns. He also added 494 rushing yards and six touchdowns, on 104 carries for the season. His production in the rushing game would lead him to finish the year as the second-highest rusher on the team and less than 150 yards away from the team's leading rusher.

"Ranking Reed this low might cause controversy and, frankly, I understand the pushback considering he was a Heisman candidate in November and led the Aggies to an 11-0 start and into the College Football Playoff," Mike Craven, the article's author, said about Reed. "But I can’t get over how pedestrian he looked against Texas and Miami down the stretch when he threw for zero touchdowns and four interceptions over those two games."

Reed finished with 180 and 237 yards, respectively, against the Texas Longhorns and the Miami Hurricanes. However, the 237 yards against the Hurricanes were more than he had in the Aggies 38-17 win against the Missouri Tigers. The key difference in the two matchups was his ability to hold on to the ball.

"In three games against ranked opponents, Reed threw for two touchdowns compared to five interceptions. He only threw for 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in games against P4 opponents," Craven continued on about his worries for the Aggies signal-caller. "The 2026 slate is much tougher for Texas A&M in 2026 and it’ll require another big jump from Reed this offseason for the Aggies to come close to last year’s success."

Who are the Top 10 quarterbacks in Texas heading into the 2026 college football season? 👀

Arch Manning, Kevin Jennings & Brendan Sorsby lead the way.

Breakdown from @CravenMike: https://t.co/pP6Ej9WqJn pic.twitter.com/2PNqhwBdhQ
— Dave Campbell's — TexasFootball.com (@dctf) March 2, 2026

There is no denying that Reed has to figure out ball control, as he ranked 121st in the country last year with 12 interceptions, but figuring out where the line is between taking risks to make plays and avoiding them to take checkdowns will be a difference maker in his success for 2026.

Reed has shown he has the prowess to be among the elite quarterbacks in the country, and has the mentality to deliver big performances such as the comeback victory against the South Carolina Gamecocks. If he continues to build on 2025, then Reed will finish nowhere close to outside the top-five signal-callers in the Lone Star State.