SEC host's bold Marcel Reed prediction puts the rest of the SEC in agony

Conner Weigman's best game by far came against Missouri in a rout in College Station. Other than that, unfortunate injuries and inconsistency forced the unofficial beginning of the Marcel Reed era at Texas A&M.

Since then, there has been plenty of criticism about the youngster's skill. Even though his passing ability was raw and uncertain, he showed A&M fans that he's confident in keeping the football on the ground. Now, SEC Network host Laura Rutledge is making A&M fans extremely optimistic if Reed progresses as we think he will.

After all of the Reed disrespect from this offseason, it's nice to see Rutledge believe in him as the quarterback who can take that next step this season.

Laura Rutledge predicts Texas A&M will be 'force to be reckoned with'

All of a sudden, the tables are turning. Following SEC Mike's prediction for Texas A&M to finish fourth in the conference, Rutledge is going even deeper to say that this A&M team is set up for success. Texas A&M won't be playing Alabama or Georgia this season, but they will have revenge games against Auburn, South Carolina and Texas.

The SEC and Big Ten only had three teams, respectively, from each conference make the College Football Playoff, but it sounds like Rutledge thinks they can rise above in the SEC.

Honestly, it's easy to see why. Pro Football Focus has gone all in on Ar'maj Reed-Adams and Trey Zuhn III to become high-level NFL Draft material. Even with Le'Veon Moss recently going through some legal trouble, it doesn't look like he's going to miss any time. The running back room is deep, featuring a tough runner in Amari Daniels and an electrifying up-and-coming player in Rueben Owens.

Rutledge's words aren't surprising to A&M fans, but it's just astonishing for an SEC insider to see the deep team that we all see. We're not saying he's going to be the next Lamar Jackson, but Reed will be a much more confident quarterback next season with his much-improved tangibles.