“He’s pounding the calories. He has done a great job, and our staff has done a great job.” In April 2025, Aggies’ offensive coordinator Collin Klein bolstered the expectations for Marcel Reed for the 2025 season. The QB already showed his dual-threat prowess, rushing for 547 yards when he stood at 6’2″ and 185 lbs last year. Now, imagine a 10-15 lbs heavier Marcel Reed, with a full offseason to perfect himself. Looks scary, right? Except there could be a little complication.

As a redshirt freshman, Reed exceeded all expectations last year when he came to fill in the role of an injured Weigman. His coming led the Aggies to an upset win over the Gators, and Reed went on to show his prowess, decimating Brian Kelly’s LSU. The showing? It was spectacular, as LSU couldn’t find an answer to Collin Klein’s offense. Yet, despite these achievements, following the LSU game, the Aggies fell to a 1-4 record, and turnover issues also marred Reed’s performances. And now, another problem has surfaced for Reed.

According to a recent report by Texas A&M insider Carter Karels, Reed might not be fully fit, as hinted by head coach Mike Elko. “There was a report Marcel Reed recently had an oblique strain, and that’s why he did not throw at the Manning Passing Academy. Just pulled Mike Elko aside and asked about it, and he said Reed didn’t throw for precautionary reasons, it wasn’t serious, and he is 100% healthy,” wrote Karels on X.

Most of the top QBs of college football threw at the Manning Passing Academy this year. These included big-name QBs like Garrett Nussmeier, Cade Klubnik, and LaNorris Sellers, who already have their QB1 positions sealed at their respective teams. So, Marcel Reed not throwing at the Academy was a sign enough to point to some complications. But now with the confirmation of Mike Elko, the concerns have become a reality. Moreover, there was another thing that pointed to Reed’s injury.

Recently, all the SEC coaches, along with their QBs, made it to the SEC Media Days from July 14th to July 17th in Atlanta, Georgia. The list of QBs present at the event included Arch Manning, Jackson Arnold, Gunner Stockton, and DJ Lagway. However, Marcel Reed, on the other hand, was nowhere to be seen with Mike Elko, fueling speculations about his spot being in jeopardy. But now, with the recent revelation, it seems the absence was more fed by injury and ‘precautionary’ concerns than the QB1 spot being in jeopardy.

Mike Elko and Marcel Reed get their hopes bolstered by Paul Finebaum

Every year, the media hypes up Texas A&M at the start of the season, and every year, the team fails to live up to the hype. Take, for example, their 2021 season, where they entered ranked No. 5 in pre-season rankings under Jimbo Fisher. However, in reality, they finished 8-4 and went unranked in the final rankings. That said, last year there were no major expectations since Mike Elko was newly arrived, and 8 wins was probably the mark fans were hoping for. That mark eventually got achieved, and this leads us to the 2025 season.

According to Paul Finebaum, the Aggies under Elko may finally break their curse of bottling expectations. “It’s a very culture-related school, and Elko fits that culture. They’re no-nonsense. Jimbo Fisher was just your classic B.S.-er. He wasn’t a serious coach. He was a politician… [Elko] just coaches football… They want people who know how to do it, not who will tell you how it’s going to be done,” said Finebaum.

Of course, some of the things we saw last year with Mike Elko, with his signature wins against LSU and Florida, were a welcome change. Yet, the late-season struggles were hard to ignore, where the offense lacked explosiveness with just 5.5 explosive plays per game after their LSU win. Moreover, their woes were aggravated after Le’Veon Moss’s injury. Hopefully, this year with Marcel Reed and co., the problems won’t surface, and Paul Finebaum’s prediction will come true after all.