A familiar face returned under center for No. 14 Texas A&M in Saturday night’s showdown with No. 8 LSU.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Marcel Reed entered the game seven minutes into the third quarter for the Aggies after an ineffective performance by redshirt sophomore QB Conner Weigman, who had just 64 yards on 6-of-18 passing.
As A&M trailed 17-7, Reed instantly turned the Aggies’ fortunes around with an 8-yard keeper for a touchdown on his first play of the game. On the next possession following a botched field goal attempt by the Tigers, Reed led A&M on a seven-play, 60-yard drive, capping it with another 8-yard run to the end zone.
It was always Marcel Reed pic.twitter.com/cRwBk3ATUG
— Unnecessary Roughness (@UnnecRoughness) October 27, 2024
On the ABC telecast, coach Mike Elko credited the change at quarterback to the Aggies’ need for a “running threat back there” against the LSU defense.
Reed continued his success one drive later, keeping an option play and taking it 4 yards to paydirt for his third score.
The Nashville, Tenn., product is no stranger to A&M’s offense after going undefeated in three starts this season. He took over the position entering the Sept. 14 matchup with Florida after Weigman aggravated an AC joint sprain in his throwing shoulder suffered in the season opener against Notre Dame.
Reed engineered wins over Florida, Bowling Green and Arkansas and introduced a dual-threat dimension to the A&M attack. He passed for 514 yards and six touchdowns in his three starts while rushing for 187 yards and two scores.
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