Week 12's Overnight Sensation: Marcel Reed, Quarterback

Each Monday during the 2024 Texas A&M football season, we’ll identify a first or second-year Aggie player who delivered an exceptional performance over the weekend and earned the distinction of being the week’s “Overnight Sensation.”

Saturday night's 43-41 four-overtime loss at Auburn was heart-wrenching for Texas A&M. There is no doubt about it.

But to trail 21-0 after the first quarter and construct response after response to flip the game's attitude from uninspiring to thrilling?

That is because of the poise and efforts of redshirt freshman quarterback Marcel Reed.

In just his sixth career start, Reed took another step forward under center, overcoming yet another large deficit to put A&M on the doorstep of an SEC Championship berth.

One devasting drop in the fourth and final overtime spoiled the game's outcome, but it still remains an encouraging night from Reed. Additionally, a trip to Atlanta is still on the table because of Oklahoma's shocking upset of Alabama.

In the four-hour, 10-minute dogfight, the Aggies fell behind, and heavy miscommunication out wide was seen early on as the offense struggled to get going.

Trailing by three touchdowns after 14 minutes of play, the Maroon & White did not roll over and pieced together a 15-play, nearly nine-minute drive to get on the board before the half.

"(The conversation was), 'We have to get going.' Coach talked to us about starting fast, and we didn't start fast. We knew we had to find something," Reed said. "Our communication at halftime helped everyone build confidence with each other."

After the half, Reed led a game-changing scoring march, completing all five of his passes, including one in the end zone as Noah Thomas made an incredible over-the-defender snag.

Momentum began to shift after the Aggie defense forced a three-and-out, and Reed sneaked a pass to Thomas through two defenders, who sped away for a 73-yard touchdown to tie things up.

After a touchdown march from Auburn and a field goal from Randy Bond made it a 28-24 ballgame, A&M took its first lead of the night with four minutes in regulation. Reed led an 80-yard drive, including a massive third-down conversion to Jabre Barber. Amari Daniels found the end zone to cap the drive.

In the first overtime, Reed threw his third touchdown pass of the night to Jahdae Walker. Both squads traded field goals in the second, and in the fourth, Reed & Co. fell just shy of forcing a fifth extra frame.

Sure, there were shortcomings and throws Reed wishes he could have back, including a first-quarter tipped pass that turned into an interception, but #10 was not the reason A&M lost this football game.

Reed threw for a career-high 297 passing yards, bringing his season total to 1,492 and fourth among Aggie freshman all-time. He also recorded 21 rushing attempts and used his legs several times to pick up a first down.

As seen in the second half against LSU, Reed has continuously provided a spark when A&M needed it most.

Due to chaos around the SEC, Reed will have one more shot to will Texas A&M to Atlanta.

The kid from Tennessee faces his biggest test yet.

"We still know there is business to take care of. Just because we lost today does not mean we won't get back to work this week," Reed said postgame. "We're prepared to go get a win this weekend against Texas."

Reed’s stats vs. Auburn
Completions: 22
Attempts: 35
Passing Yards: 297
Passing Touchdowns: 3
Interceptions: 1
Rushing Yards: 66
Rushing Touchdowns: 0

Reed’s 2024 stats
Completions: 105
Attempts: 175
Passing Yards: 1426
Passing Touchdowns: 12,
Interceptions: 3
Rushing Yards: 441
Rushing Touchdowns: 6