Texas A&M didn’t just defeat the Samford Bulldogs on Saturday; they dismantled them. A 48–0 blowout should’ve been the headline, but all eyes shifted to Marcel Reed’s absence early in the second quarter. Reed, after throwing 3 TD passes in the first quarter, was nowhere to be seen, and injury rumors exploded across social media. With increasing concerns, Mike Elko was forced to step up to address the QB’s exit.

Mike Elko denied injury rumors and revealed it’s a game plan to provide opportunities to the new talent.

“More than anything, it’s about getting people in.” Mike Elko said on the post-game presser. “We wanted today to be about guys getting opportunities. There were guys that got quality reps today, and I thought that was really, really important.”

Reed posted a 3-yard touchdown pass to Ashton Bethel-Roman on the very first drive to put the Aggies ahead 7-0. The QB scored again, extended the lead to 14-0, with a 6-yard pass to KC Concepcion with about four minutes left in the first quarter. The third touchdown came with a 58-yard throw to Bethel-Roman, extending the lead to 21-0 near the end of the first.

After Amari Daniels scored a 1-yard TD run in the second quarter, extending the lead further to 28-0, Marcel Reed stepped out of the field and was replaced by Miles O’Neill.