Marcel Reed hits out at the perception of the Texas A&M Aggies football team originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed believes third-year head coach Mike Elko’s impact should be changing the narrative on the program’s ability to not only land top recruits but also develop them. 10 Aggies were taken in the 2026 NFL draft, after all.
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Reed believes the disrespect doesn’t make sense after Texas A&M has “proven” itself during the past two years under Elko. Per Reed, “Our name is Texas A&M. We’re always known for having good recruiting classes but not doing anything with them, but these past two years have been different than what it has been before. I think people should start noticing that, because we’re tired of it, obviously. We think we should have as much recognition as anybody else, because we’re up-and-coming, and we’ve proved it.”
Reed amassed over 3,600 yards of total offense for the Aggies in 2025, finding the end zone 25 times during a 10-win season. With that said, he also had 12 interceptions, and many now believe he was holding KC Concepcion back after the first-round pick’s impressive pre-draft process.
Reed has been a part of great things in College Station, including knocking off the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in South Bend last September. The needle has been moved in the right direction. But like his own personal struggles amid the greatness, TAMU had its own issues in 2025 that make many forget about the Aggies when discussing top programs in the sport.
Texas A&M laid eggs in the most important games. Expensive teams are expected to be better.
If Reed wanted more respect, the offensive line shouldn’t have been such a pushover against the Miami Hurricanes in a rough 10-3 loss in the CFP. Reed was sacked seven times, and Texas A&M had under 100 rushing yards total.
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If Reed wanted more respect, the Aggies should’ve avoided a second-straight loss to the rival Texas Longhorns to end the regular season. If we want to go beyond the 2025 season and go back to 2024, Texas A&M would’ve had more respect by winning 11 games and making the CFP in 2024, instead of losing to Hugh Freeze’s Auburn Tigers and the Longhorns in the final two weeks of the season.
The Aggies will get their respect, but as one of the top NIL/rev-share spenders in the country, it has to come with significant wins. Or even one win at all during the CFP. So far, TAMU has only delivered regular-season success.
And that just doesn’t get as much respect as Reed seems to be looking for.
