For the third game in a row, No. 24 Texas A&M football will likely turn to redshirt freshman quarterback Marcel Reed to lead its offense.
Redshirt sophomore QB Conner Weigman was listed as out on the student-athlete availability report ahead of A&M’s 2:30 p.m. matchup with Arkansas at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
Weigman continues to nurse an AC sprain in his throwing shoulder suffered in a season-opening loss to Notre Dame on Aug. 31. He aggravated the injury on Sept. 12, ahead of the Aggies’ SEC opener at Florida. Weigman hasn’t appeared in a game since throwing for 125 yards and two touchdowns in a Sept. 7 win over McNeese State. He was dressed in street clothes during Saturday’s pregame warmups.
Reed has led A&M to wins in his first two career starts, taking down the Gators, 33-20, before last week’s 26-20 victory over Bowling Green at Kyle Field. For the season, he has totaled 422 passing yards with four touchdowns and 217 rushing yards and a score.
Reed completed 16 of 29 passes versus the Falcons for 173 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 91 yards on the ground.
It marks the fourth season in a row in which the Aggies have started a second-string quarterback against the Razorbacks. Zach Calzada got the nod in 2021 in place of Haynes King, while Max Johnson started in 2022 and 2023 in place of King and Weigman, respectively.
A&M has won 11 of the past 12 matchups with Arkansas, with the lone Razorback win coming in 2021. This year marks the final installment of the Southwest Classic at AT&T Stadium before the rivalry moves to campus sites next season.