Texas A&M fans everywhere are calling for Marcel Reed to be benched after the first six games of the season. It's not hard to see why— he's been the worst quarterback in the conference, by and large, through this first half of the year, and when you factor in his lackluster performances in the final two games of the previous season, it's a discouraging trend to say the least.
However, despite all that, it's still not the right move to bench Reed right now. The Aggies may feel like they've seen enough, and Marcel could still be in a pretty bad mental place at this point, but strategically speaking, for the future of the program— and for this team right now— sitting Marcel is not the right option.
This will be a controversial premise for many Aggie fans, given the level of play that he has put on the field through this 3-3 start, but the reasoning is actually pretty simple. Here's why it would be a mistake to sit Reed at this point.
It's not the right move for Mike Elko to bench Marcel Reed— yet
The first issue is that the quarterback room simply does not have a better option. If you're coming at this from a pragmatic perspective, things really start and end here. This does not absolve Mike Elko of blame for the situation, of course— there was a decision made to not prioritize getting another QB in the portal, and that ultimately falls on the head man.
But with Miles O'Neill over in Chapel Hill, the backup options are now Brady Hart— who, though a redshirt freshman, is still only 18 due to graduating a year early— and Helaman Casuga. Those are two extremely green players who would be thrust into the starting role in the midst of an offense that has far more issues than just the QB position.
That same pragmatist may say that the practical approach would be to pull Reed anyway, even in light of this, and let the future of the position begin to gain some experience. However, that fails to consider that it is vital for a young QB to come in and be put in a position to succeed— confidence early on is one of the most vital things for a signal caller, and there's no easier way to have that get completely shot than to make your first conference start on the road against Alabama with a leaky offensive line.
If you disagree with that premise, just take a look at the transformation we've seen in Marcel from last year to this one. He's a completely different player thanks to the mental struggles he's had at the position— whatever potential you see in Hart and Casuga could be entirely dashed if they get put in too early on.
The way I see it, Marcel has two weeks to get things together. There's the warmup against the Citadel this weekend, and then you have the road trip to Tuscaloosa. I don't think anyone foresees Marcel suddenly turning back into the player he once was as soon as he steps foot into Bryant-Denny, but that gets the Aggies to the bye, at the very least.
Once that off week comes, that's when all bets are off. The offensive staff being retooled, positions battles reopening, you name it. If you're going to make a quarterback change, you do it then, giving either Hart or Casuga the longest possible amount of time to get acclimated to the position before the stretch run.
There's a lot of potential in this offense, and having a functioning passing game will help open that up. But if that's really the goal for Aggie fans, then benching Reed right now is not the right move. Give him at least these two more weeks, and then if a move needs to be made at the bye, do it at that point. Otherwise, you risk ruining the development of the entire QB room— and that would just be irresponsible.
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