Las Vegas Bowl is a chance for QB Marcell Reed to improve

LAS VEGAS – Texas A&M coach Mike Elko said he and Aggies quarterback Marcell Reed had something in common when they were under the roof at NRG Stadium during the holidays a year ago.

“I was still running around in circles, and he was playing in circles,” Elko said Thursday of Reed’s 31-23 loss to Oklahoma State in the 2023 Texas Bowl. He talked about his first overtime game in college.

Elko had just been hired from Duke University and was watching the Texas Bowl from above. Now, both coach and quarterback have one year of experience at A&M, and the 8-4 Aggies will play in the Las Vegas Bowl on Friday at 9:30 p.m. at Allegiant Stadium, home of the NFL in Las Vegas. They will face Southern California, which has 6 wins and 6 losses. assailants.

“It’s a good start to the season,” USC coach Lincoln Riley said of his team’s unscheduled return to Las Vegas. “And hopefully we can end it the same way.”

The Trojans, now a member of the Big Ten, started the season with a 27-20 win over nonconference foe LSU at Allegiant Stadium on September 1, but lost more than they won in the remaining games. The score was 0.500. The Aggies also defeated fellow Southeastern Conference member LSU. This was largely due to Reid replacing struggling starter Connor Weigman in the second half of the Oct. 26 game at Kyle Field.

Reed sparked a 38-23 victory over the Tigers and has started four consecutive games since then, continuing to develop as a redshirt freshman who started the season as a reserve. Weigman has since announced his intention to transfer to the University of Houston, and another reserve player, Jalen Henderson, is also leaving the program.

Reed also started the first three games of the season in place of the injured Weigman, and Weigman returned to action in the Aggies’ 41-10 home win over Missouri State on October 5.

A year ago, Reid replaced the injured Henderson on one possession in the Texas Bowl, just as Henderson filled in for two injured QBs, Weigman and Max Johnson, late in the season. . A&M also fired Jimbo Fisher and hired Elko during the same period. Therefore, Elko was running around in circles during the holidays in 2023.

The dynamic Reed averages 50 rushing yards per game, which ranks third among quarterbacks in the SEC. He also needs two completions and two touchdown passes against USC to rank among the top three all-time among A&M freshman quarterbacks in both categories.

“I feel like I’ve grown a lot as a person and as a player from last year to this year, and I think I still have a lot of room to push myself to the next level,” Reed said Thursday as the Aggies make their final preparations. spoke. bowl game. “…This ballgame will be another opportunity for me to show what I can do in my role as Texas A&M’s starting quarterback.”

Elko said Reid has made “great strides” in his role as a starter and should continue to adjust to offensive coordinator Colin Klein’s scheme.

“It’s been a challenging year for him in some ways. An injury forced him into the starting role, then he came back in the middle of a conference game and had to start the rest of the game.” Elko said. “It hasn’t been a smooth ride, but he’s done a good job of staying consistent all year.

“And the biggest improvement is he’s getting more and more comfortable with the offense, reading, progression and seeing the whole field. (Friday) I hope (he) continues to move forward.”

After an incredible 5-0 start in league play, A&M lost all three SEC games in November (South Carolina and Auburn and a home game against Texas) before heading into 2025. We have a chance to get back on track.

“This is an exciting opportunity for us to start off next year. That’s how we’ve been talking about this bowl,” Elko said. “…It’s a new team in a way. We’ve got some kids coming in, some kids leaving, but leading this team is kind of the start of the offseason and building for next year. .”

Elco also provided an update on running back Ruben Owens, a 2023 graduate and five-star prospect out of El Campo. This is probably the latest information related to 2025. Owens was sidelined with a lower leg injury during training camp, and he did not make his season debut in 2023. He also played briefly in the Aggies’ 17-7 home loss to Texas in the final game of the regular season.

“He’s had a really good week preparing, and the time he missed was really good for him,” Elko said. “He’s not quite back yet. It’s probably been a five-month injury, probably still about four months. It was really, really good for him to be able to come out and get a lot of reps.

“And given everything he’s missed this year, this is a good way for him to move forward into next year and we’ll see (Friday) how much we can get out of him. It will be.”