Texas A&M QB Marcel Reed Addresses Critics With Brief Opening Remark About Passing Game

Texas A&M QB Marcel Reed Addresses Critics With Brief Opening Remark About Passing Game originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

Texas A&M had its press conference on Tuesday, July 29 after the first day of fall camp. Head coach Mike Elko expressed his excitement for his entire team to start camp available and completely healthy.

While there's hope for the 2025 season, there were improvements or adjustments that needed to be made. Whether it was getting Le'Veon Moss and Rueben Owens back to 100 percent, refining the defense so that it's not relying primarily on individual talents, or pushing quarterback Marcel Reed to the next level, there's a lot to look forward to in Elko's second season in College Station.

For Reed, he's confident in himself, but the public? Not so much.

“Well, I know y’all have heard it just like I have, ‘Not a passer,’" Reed said to media on Tuesday when asked about his biggest areas of improvement in the offseason.

The redshirt sophomore is entering his second season as the Texas A&M starter under center. In 2024, Reed threw 147 yards for 1,864 yards, 15 touchdowns, and a 61.3 overall completion percentage. He also had six interceptions. On the ground, he rushed 116 times for 547 yards and seven touchdowns.

Reed was the 23rd quarterback in the country on ESPN's Total QBR ranking and fifth in the SEC behind Garrett Nussmeier, Carson Beck, Jalen Milroe, and Jaxson Dart. However, looking strictly at passing, he fell to 12th in the SEC and 77th nationally.

If Reed plans on being a serious Heisman Trophy contender, which are his lofty 2025 season goals, 77th is far from where he needs to be in the country in passing. It's not something that went over his head, though, and he said on Tuesday that his passing game where he sees the most growth ahead of fall camp.

"We’ve had some great receivers come in and just having the O-line and running backs that we have makes it a lot easier for me to sit back there and make these throws," Reed said. "The receivers we have now have made it a lot easier as well. I feel a lot more confident back there, finding ways to protect myself. Knowing the offense a little bit better."

The outside doubt and noise regarding his passing is put aside in his mind as well.

"Didn’t really motivate me or anything," Reed said of his critics. "Obviously, as I go into each season, I know there are some things I have to improve on. I’ve been doing that since I was a kid."

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 30, 2025, where it first appeared.