He's a different quarterback with an average to poor line.

No doubt the OL, 1 more awesome reciever and a softer schedule have the most to do with it. Change those on a QB and it all changes. Let the QB believe it is all him, and the confidence spirals down, makin g it worse and then becoming a self fulfilling prophesy. That and a solid year of film for defenses to study.

Thousands of hours of film, media, and fan hype turns you into a completely different player. You step into that spotlight and it's a lot to handle.

Then he was "coached up" and every bit of spontaneity, decision-making, and decisiveness was coached out of him.

One way he succeeded was not taking a 7 step drop from the shotgun, and then running backwards another 10 yards when protection broke down after he finished staring down the first option....




....too critical?

TexasRebel said:

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If you place an infinite number of Monkeys with an infinite number of typewriters in a room for an infinite amount of time…

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….youll have a cesspool?

Better/experienced OL, experienced RB room (if Laveon was never injured would have helped later in the year and was an issue down the stretch), better/experienced WR corps, better TEs (blocking/receiving)...defense provided pressure on opposing offenses which gave us 'more' chances. Only ST has improved this year IMO (FG U).

If one really goes back to watch some games, KCs route running allowed other to be 'open'. Also, go count the acrobatic catches KC and Mario had to make to catch 'high' footballs (do not expect perfect throws, but times they really went to get the ball).

Even in ND game, they were bailing him out with catches (yes, some passes were good when a WR is 'wide' open and not tight windows).

Use ASU game this year when Mario was open on the route (no one within 10 yards), Marcels ball was in the vicinity and Mario had to make a leaping athletic catch on the run and thankfully kept his balance to score (no defender near him).

In Mizzou game, if Marcel had kept his composure and hit Horton on that wheel route 'early'...bet his confidence and completion trajectory would have been better. Once I saw that throw off balance, poor mechanics, etc. with no pressure, knew bad day at black rock forthcoming.

Smeghead4761 said:

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Last year he definitely had a better OL, plus better receivers and a better run game. And a better and far more experienced OC.

This year the OL is almost all new, Craver is really the only skill player the other teams have to respect, and the OC couldn't scheme his way through a piece of wet kleenex.

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Last year he had all of that so he was the only thing weighing the offense down against the easiest schedule you can get in the modern SEC.

We first saw him at the Texas Bowl as a True Freshman bc of injuries. Honestly he looked better in that game then he did all year.

He had an offensive line last year.

O line play was better. I tend to think the biggest factor was/is game tape. DCs were able to figure him out and gameplan based on a body of work.

The first full game he played against Florida in 2024 that we won was night and day compared to what we see now.

My issue is what is the QB coach doing. There are many times that he can step up into a clean pocket but instead retreats back and then runs to one side. He misses half the field because he won't step up. That is QB 101. As a veteran that should be easy. Personally, while the OL isn't up to last year's level, it isn't as bad especially pass blocking as some think. Also, because of Marcel's refusal to actually run the ball on the Zone Read makes the run easier to stop.

What changed is the team around him. He was always this quarterback. Before he had the talent around him for the team to win despite his issues and inconsistency. Even great QB's may have a bad game every now and then, but when you have a few statistically bad games every season, it's not having a bad game every now and then. You just aren't that good.

a.froman said:

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My issue is what is the QB coach doing. There are many times that he can step up into a clean pocket but instead retreats back and then runs to one side. He misses half the field because he won't step up. That is QB 101. As a veteran that should be easy. Personally, while the OL isn't up to last year's level, it isn't as bad especially pass blocking as some think. Also, because of Marcel's refusal to actually run the ball on the Zone Read makes the run easier to stop.

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Careful, I was implicitly told I don't know ball for stating this during and after the Mizz game. Some folks have it set in their minds that the OL is the problem. It ain't good, but it ain't as bad as folks want it to be. Marcel is an astoundingly unfriendly qb to his OL.

Yes I forgot my number (4) that you just stated. Film. Defenses figured him out. He failed to progress as a passer. Anyone being honest with themselves knew this was a major issue. I know I heard many Ags also state these facts. It seemed it boiled down to 'trust Elko'. Trust the process. Elko sees something we don't.

a.froman said:

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My issue is what is the QB coach doing. There are many times that he can step up into a clean pocket but instead retreats back and then runs to one side. He misses half the field because he won't step up. That is QB 101. As a veteran that should be easy.

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this x100. this is the biggest thing i notice. He runs into pressure. Every pass is a huge drop and he's already starting in shotgun. He's asking super human blocking from his o line, and routes that need to develop in 2 seconds.

Vance Refrigeration said:

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a.froman said:

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My issue is what is the QB coach doing. There are many times that he can step up into a clean pocket but instead retreats back and then runs to one side. He misses half the field because he won't step up. That is QB 101. As a veteran that should be easy.

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this x100. this is the biggest thing i notice. He runs into pressure. Every pass is a huge drop and he's already starting in shotgun. He's asking super human blocking from his o line, and routes that need to develop in 2 seconds.

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Key point, "huge drop", shotgun. When you do that you make the DEs' jobs easy and the OTs' jobs near impossible. The angles become overwhelmingly in favor of the DEs.

1. Easier 2024 and 2025 schedules
2. NFL talent at skill positions (2025 team)
3. Veteran/some NFL talent on OL (2025 team)


Go back and watch the games where the legend of Marcel Reed was built. 2024 @LSU, 2025 @ND, etc and be honest, are these examples of Marcel being great?

He's been getting a lot of credit for stuff he didn't do. It's annoying when fans give that credit, and it's dangerous for the team when our coaches do it.

Paul Pierce Ag said:

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1. Easier 2024 and 2025 schedules
2. NFL talent at skill positions (2025 team)
3. Veteran/some NFL talent on OL (2025 team)


Go back and watch the games where the legend of Marcel Reed was built. 2024 @LSU, 2025 @ND, etc and be honest, are these examples of Marcel being great?

He's been getting a lot of credit for stuff he didn't do. It's annoying when fans give that credit, and it's dangerous for the team when our coaches do it.

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As I recall (without going back and verifying) weren't alot of the big plays in games last year short passes and Craver/Concepcion making big plays after the catch? Along with Reed using his legs better than he has this year.

Yep, it's KC and Craver making circus catches and being YAC monsters. It's KC being electric in the punt return game. It's opposing defenses making big mistakes in key moments.

I'll say I also think Marcel's one juke @FL in 2024 is doing an insane amount of heavy lifting in the narrative that he's a good runner. He's fine.

It's pretty simple: a higher percentage of the things around him set him up for success last year than this year.

Last year he had:

• stronger run game
• cleaner pocket more consistently
• an OC with more experience developing a gameplan, particularly helpful for fast starts
• playing with a lead more often
• a fanbase that hadn't grown angsty / uneasy after early season struggles (both the team and his play)

All of this is a snowball. His margin of error has become smaller, and things started poorly. Chatter (and therefore pressure) grows, performance worsens, team play doesn't make up for his underperformance (because we aren't built to do that this year), and so on.

A very similar thing happened with Weigman, who was a more naturally gifted distributor of the football. He started a season under a new system slow, our fanbase is a pressure cooker and he cracked. Obviously, his ability to throw a football was not permanently broken, he's having tremendous success at Houston.

Great idea OP


But Coach knows ball, and he doesn't think Hart can help us win so we aren't going to play him


We're lucky to have such a great football mind leading our program

Marcel has certainly regressed, but he was also never as good as most of TexAgs thought he was. He's waived red flags since the beginning. He's shown glimpses of good play, but has been consistently inconsistent.

It's weird how his one fluke game against LSU (coming in for Weigman) earned him a tenured starting role.

Reed succeeded before because he had an O-Line with 4 NFL draft picks, one of the best receiving rooms in the country , and a great OC, all of which masked his very clear deficiencies at the Quarterback position. He's an ATH playing quarterback. The "elite skills" we saw last year were largely smoke and mirrors. (Look at how he performed when Klein mentally checked out for KState)

Way too much over analysis here. He just isn't good.

Yes the OL was better last year, yes the WRs were better last year with KC, but Reed is missing JV throws, missing wide open WRs, half the completions are still inaccurate bad throws.

There are many examples of guys wide open and either no throw or a bad throw, plays where 10 guys did their job and Reed couldn't execute the most basic function of even a G5 QB (Kentucky 4th and 2).

Yes the OL could be better but that's about it. The WRs are plenty good and getting separation and are open.

It's 100% a Reed issue, not anything else.

NoahAg said:

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Marcel has certainly regressed, but he was also never as good as most of TexAgs thought he was. He's waived red flags since the beginning. He's shown glimpses of good play, but has been consistently inconsistent.

It's weird how his one fluke game against LSU (coming in for Weigman) earned him a tenured starting role.

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It worked for JJ and a few others.

levimod said:

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I think the heisman hype got in his head at the end of last season and he's hung up on it.

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I never considered Reed Heisman material, not from day one!!!! He had good players in front of him, good running backs and receivers. They complimented him and covered his flaws. When I first saw him mentioned as Heisman material it was laughable to me.

After watching the replays that are shown from behind the QB, It appears Marcel is late turning the ball loose. Many of these routes are timing routes where the ball should be on the way before the receiver makes his turn. He needs to trust that his receivers can make the adjustments. Several times the receivers appeared worried about getting lit up because the ball was delivered late in the route. I hope they can figure it out. I believe the defense is improving enough for the team to compete.
One other thought: why do we have to be a shotgun offense. Put him under center sometimes and run play action passing. Use two back mis-direction plays. Short yardage runs from the gun have been a disaster.