Marcel Reed wasn’t expected to play in his freshman season. However, Mike Elko’s QB1, Connor Wiegman, suffered a shoulder injury, and Reed was thrust into action. First game as a starter? The Aggies defeated the Gators by 33-20 on the back of three touchdowns by Reed (2 passing, 1 rushing). In an unfortunate moment (losing your starting QB), Elko discovered a dual-threat weapon. In fact, Texas A&M was 6-1 at one point. However, that amazing start soon faltered. Some tough losses. Some bad offensive returns. And here we are! With Reed returning for the 2025 season, the head coach is hoping to get out of the ‘8-4′ slump that has forever plagued the program.

The Aggies’ chances at making it to the postseason will depend on the leap that Marcel Reed takes in the 2025 season. Of course, 11 games, 1864 yards, and 15 touchdowns. That tells a part of the story. The good part happened in the first half of the season. In the Crain & Company podcast, host Jake Crain was quite certain about the noise that has started to build around Marcel Reed. “I actually think he is more or as prepared as any young guy that’s now the starting QB going into year two. He’s gone through that arc and has had to deal with all of that heading into this season,” said Crain.

When you compare it with someone like Arch Manning, who will have his first year as the starting QB, Reed is more experienced. Especially when it comes to experiencing failure. One of those failures came against the Longhorns in a game that meant that the Aggies are not making it to the postseason. Reed’s passing game disappeared, and he failed to provide any rhythm to the offense. The result? A 7-17 loss. Reed went 16 of 23 for 146 yards with one interception. In the ground game, he managed just 46 yards.

A similar offensive slump happened against the Gamecocks. In a 20-44 loss, the Aggies didn’t score a single point in the second half. Of course, all of it is not down to Reed. You can’t really win if your defense is leaking 44 points. Or 43 points to Auburn. So, it wasn’t all down to Reed.

During the conversation on the podcast, Crain asked Billy Liucci about Reed’s progress heading into a huge year, and he had some similar thoughts. “I think he’s a lot further along from what I saw in spring and from what I’ve been hearing about this summer. The question is not going to be answered until they’re on the field of how much of a jump he takes. He’s one of the real wild cards in the SEC to me,” said Liucci on the podcast.

The wildcard can take the Aggies’ places this coming season. The head coach also talked about their slump last year.

Mike Elko opened up about frustration over the Aggies’ struggle last season

Forgetting the previous season might be very difficult for Aggies head coach Mike Elko. His first season with them wasn’t a fairy tale. However, a scope of improvement is there in the upcoming season. Aggies have a solid experience in the roster in their roster for 2025. With around 23 players who will play their last year of college football, the head coach looks confident. Hence, the expectations on the team are super high.

However, remembering the previous season, Elko revealed the real reason behind his frustration during the Fort Worth Coach’s night. “The frustration at the end of the season is on me, and it’s frustration in my ability to get the job done at the level it needs to get done. I was frustrated that we didn’t play defense at the level we’re capable of down the stretch.”

These words prove that he still hasn’t moved on from the previous season. Is it worth holding? Not really. But the head coach seems happy with the roster and praised the young lads as well. So, the fans can expect a good rapport between the coach and the players, which might lead to something great this season.