There’s a lot of noise around Marcel Reed right now after the Aggies’ gut-wrenching loss to Kentucky today in a game where he looked very far from his best self. The key play that will stick with fans for a while in this one is when Reed, on a key fourth-down play, threw the ball at the feet of a wide-open Carsyn Baker, giving Kentucky the ball deep in A&M territory.
The Wildcats would capitalize to score their third touchdown of the third quarter, going up 28-7 and putting the game out of reach. Add in two red zone interceptions by Marcel, and it’s maybe one of the worst games we’ve seen out of no. 10 in his career in the Maroon and White.
There’s been a lot of talk about Reed’s improvement over the course of the offseason, but more than anything else this year, it looks like he is struggling with consistency more than ever this year. Mike Elko was asked about Reed’s uneven play so far this year in his press conference and he— just like always— had the exact right read on the situation.
Mike Elko knows what Marcel Reed’s problem is— now he has to fix it
Elko was not exactly verbose in the postgame presser, but he waxed eloquent on this answer— I’ve included the trimmed-down portion of his answer below, but you can see the whole thing in his presser at this link.
"It’s a plethora of things. More than anything, it’s a kid who’s pressing… you can see him pressing. You can see the stress in him when he’s trying to throw, he’s trying to be perfect… I’ve been trying to get him unlocked and unhinged and relaxed. I think that’s why he plays better in two minute… he can just relax… he can cut it loose and play and feel free… it’s like a pitcher who struggles to throw strikes."Mike Elko
“The yips” is a pretty accurate summation of what is happening to Marcel right now, and it’s astute of Elko to observe that. We’ve seen Marcel make some big time throws, without a doubt, but he’s not able to do it down to down right now. In fact, it’s the routine plays that he’s missing most often.
Of course, it’s one thing to diagnose the situation— it’s completely another to cure it. Elko now has the task on his hands of figuring out how to get Marcel out of this state of mind and get him to a better place— that’s part of what you have to do as a coach.
Marcel, to his great credit, went up on the podium and talked himself about the issues. Don’t let that point pass you by— it would be extremely easy for him to say he doesn’t feel like getting up there and talk about what’s going on, but he didn’t do that. He knows that he’s missing the “layups,” as he put it, but he has to get it fixed.
The College Football Playoff hopes for the Aggies ride on the play of no. 10. He’s got to play better— maybe this is a watershed moment for him and he will turn it on from here on out. Aggie fans certainly are hoping that’s what happens.
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