Mike Elko, now in his second year of coaching in College Station, is slowly figuring out the ropes of Texas A&M football, recruiting and Marcel Reed.
Conner Weigman, for about half the season was the No. 1 option for Elko and the Aggies. During the Notre Dame game, Weigman didn't really show up, which was the scapegoat for fans to help blame for what seemed like a dull loss against the Irish. Sure, he didn't show up against the team that went to the national championship game last season, but it didn't warrant for him to be benched yet.
After a slow start against LSU, and with fans murmuring inside Kyle for a change to be made, Reed came in for Weigman and changed the whole dynamic of the game. He was then listed as the starting QB for the remainder of the season. With that said, Elko also revealed something that fans might've been wondering about during the Notre Dame game last year, and it shows that Reed either truly wasn't ready, or the coaching staff was extremely hesitant to unleash the freshman early.
Elko reveals he wouldn't have played Reed in the Notre Dame game in 2024
Mike Elko said he never considered bringing in Marcel Reed vs. Notre Dame last year.
— TexAgs (@TexAgs) September 8, 2025
This was about what fans expected, but it shows that Elko probably didn't want to unleash Reed to the wolves already. After the Florida game when Reed gained his most confidence was probably the turning point for the coaching staff last season, but in the first game against Notre Dame, it was clear that there was no sign of any change that was going to be made.
This doesn't show how bad Reed was, in fact, this shows us how much he's grown since last year at this time. There were concerns about his accuracy going into the season, but all of that noise has since been silenced.
Reed is the true QB1, and fans know that after they held their breath when he was forced to enter the locker room after taking an awkward hit against Utah State. Trey Zuhn III and Reed are good to go against Notre Dame, let's see what they can do with a full strength roster against one of the best in the land.