Marcel Reed's Texas A&M teammates weren't surprised by his breakout game. Here's why
COLLEGE STATION — Adversity breeds opportunity. On Saturday, Marcel Reed was given a chance to be the man, and he didn't waver at the moment.
The Texas A&M Aggies walked into a hostile environment against a Florida Gators team eager for a much-needed win and pulled out a road win against a conference opponent.
As a game of “will he or won’t he” played out regarding starting quarterback Conner Weigman, Reed and Co. locked in on the task at hand.
Reed trotted out onto the field for his first career college start, just his fifth-ever appearance at this level, and proceeded to light the Gators up for 60 minutes. Behind a three-touchdown performance from the freshman, A&M beat Florida in the swamp 33-20.
Some may have been surprised by the performance. But those around the team had seen this type of potential from the young quarterback all along.
"We feel really comfortable with who Marcel is," head coach Mike Elko told reporters during his weekly conference Monday.
"We have a lot of confidence in Marcel. We always have. ... It didn't surprise me. Is he consistent? Yeah, he's consistent in that he's young and goes through the ups and downs of being a quarterback. ... He has a skill set we can win with."
A&M GRADES: As all around, except for a few Aggie units
Marcel Reed's strong play is no surprise
Naturally, the head coach isn’t going to tip his hand one way or another when it comes to the future of the quarterback position, but a feeling of confidence exuded from Elko while speaking about Reed, a former four-star prospect out of Nashville, Tenn.
For his teammates, though, Reed's performance confirmed what they’ve seen every day since he arrived in College Station.
"It's hard to say 'impressed' because I already knew what he had,” running back EJ Smith said. “He was showing all of that throughout the offseason. What I was really excited about was him being able to put on a show."
Smith conveyed belief in the backup quarterback from the same side of the ball, and those who have had to play against him in practice have seen firsthand just how talented Reed really is.
"Since he first came in, we were like, 'This dude is nice,’” A&M defensive lineman Albert Regis said. “We already knew what we were going into, but you never quite know who you're going against until you go against him."
"We knew he could move, but when he came up against us, it was like, 'Oh dang. He can really move.' It challenged us to take better angles. ... It made us better."
'A different kind of joy'
Those practice reps were just a glimpse of what was in store for those who had to face Reed when things got real.
"It was exciting to see him finally do it to someone else that's not us,” Regis said. “We dealt with that for Lord knows how long. We knew he could do it, but when you see it against someone else that isn't your own teammate, that's a different kind of joy."
Unfortunately for the Gators, who may have thought they were in for a treat because Weigman was on the sideline with a ball cap on, Saturday turned out to be anything but sweet.
Instead, the young signal-caller proceeded to go 11-of-17 for 178 passing yards and two touchdowns while adding another 83 yards and one touchdown on the ground.
It blindsided the Gators, who fell 1-2 on the year at the hands of Reed and Co., and validated those around the Aggies program who have been quietly excited about Reed and his future.
Elko mentioned Monday that the team was putting Weigman through further imaging and said that the Week 1 starter was day-to-day or week-to-week in his recovery.
As Weigman continues to battle back from his shoulder injury, those around the Aggies have a not-so-quiet confidence centered around their QB2 if his name is called to start again this week.
The rest of the college football world may be playing catch-up regarding this dual-threat QB.
However, those around here know what they have, and always did.
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Saturday's game
Bowling Green (1-1) at No. 24 Texas A&M (2-1), 6:30 p.m., SEC+, 1370