Marcel Reed named Southeastern Conference's Freshman of the Week

What has been said about Marcel Reed that hasn’t been said in the last 48 hours?

How about: “Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week”?

On Monday, the Texas A&M redshirt freshman signal-caller received said honor following a stellar performance in the Aggies’ Week 3 win in Gainesville.

Reed shares the honor with Texas quarterback Arch Manning.

In his first collegiate start, Reed guided the Maroon & White to a 33-20 win over Florida at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium to mercifully halt A&M’s elongated 10-game road losing streak.

“I wouldn’t say I expected it,” Reed said of his stellar first career start. “But things happen. I had to be ready. I prepared like I was going to start this week. I got the green light, and I did what I had to do.”

Stepping in for the injured Conner Weigman, the Nashville native completed 11-of-17 passes for 178 yards and two touchdowns.

Reed also showcased his game-breaking ability with his legs as he scampered for 83 rushing yards and another score on the ground.

In control from the outset, the dual-threat ripped off an electrifying 31-yard gain on second-and-21 that featured not one but two jukes around Gator defenders.

That electricity turned to lightning on a 29-yard touchdown strike to Theo Melin Öhrström — aka “Thor” — at the end of the first quarter.

“That was a full progression read,” Reed said of the play. “I made it through just about all the way. I kind of took a little hit at the end.

“I was like, ‘I can do this. I’m not a little kid. I can make plays in this conference.’ That one just set me up for some success and gave me the confidence I needed to play the rest of the game.”

That capped off a 92-yard drive. Reed’s 1-yard QB sneak punctuated a dominant 99-yard march in the second.

Yet it was a third-quarter bolt from Reed to Cyrus Allen that covered 73 yards and served as a proverbial knock-out blow to the Gators and potentially Billy Napier’s Gainesville tenure.

Also seeing action in A&M’s Week 2 clobbering of McNeese State, Reed has now 16-of-28 passes for 249 yards to go along with 126 rushing yards for three total touchdowns in 2024.

This is the first SEC weekly honor of Reed’s young career, and he becomes the first Aggie to be anointed Freshman of the Week since Taurean York earned the title in Week 4 of 2023.