Reed expects A&M's offense to remain explosive

Key notes from Marcel Reed interview

• We’re in it now. We’re about one or two practices away from halfway through spring football. Today was our sixth practice.
   
• It hasn’t been too much of a crazy transition. A lot of what we did last year are some things we’re doing this year. There have been some tweaks, and we have some new faces in the room with coaches and players. Joey Lynch has been awesome with us and has given us the pathway to being the best quarterbacks we can be. Holmon Wiggins is the receivers coach in addition to being the offensive coordinator, so he’s making sure the perimeter of the offense is in line. After each practice, we talk about what needs to be better, what the standard is and how we’re going to get there.
   
• It’s me growing up. I have to be at the facility more, and I have to be there talking ball. There is more information that has to be taught, and I want to learn in order to be the best quarterback I can be. Understanding why we’re doing what we’re doing is very important.
   
• It’s going to be an explosive offense. It will be just as explosive as it was last year. We have a lot of returning guys. We have some transfers, especially along the offensive line, that are stepping up. I’m on the same page with all of the linemen. Mark Nabou Jr. is a veteran up there, and he’s helping everyone navigate what it takes. On the perimeter, the freshmen we have, the transfers and returners are becoming one. We have a lot of people with SEC talent and SEC experience. It’s going to be really exciting.
   
• You’re going to see a more explosive, faster Marcel Reed who is quicker at processing, and you’ll see a more mature Marcel Reed. My game elevated last year, but I need to be smarter in certain situations. I had a play in practice today where the old me kicked in, but we’re trying to break those habits. It was two-minute, and it was a safe shot. We don’t have much time on the clock, so we were taking one shot or kicking a field goal. I threw it to a running back and thought he was going to get out of bounds, but I should’ve just thrown it out of bounds.
   
• Eventually, things like that are going to become muscle memory for me. We had a QB talk after practice, and there were some mistakes made by our room. That’s the best thing that can happen in practice because we know what we’re not going to do, and we’re not going to do it again. You live, and you learn.
   
• Terry Bussey has been really good in these last few practices. He’s becoming more comfortable and more mature. Once you get in the game and get experience, you understand the speed of the game and what it takes to win at this level. Mike Elko preaches it all the time about what championship execution looks like. It has been good to see Bussey out there this spring.
   
• Mario Craver is twitchy and fast, and he’s really hard to get down for some reason. He’s going to be a nightmare for some teams this year. It’s hard for a nickel or a safety to come down and cover him.
   
• The newcomers are becoming more comfortable after trying to learn the scheme. Aaron Gregory, Madden Williams and Mike Brown jump out. Even Jayden Warren made some big plays on Saturday. Isaiah Horton has the SEC experience, so he knows what it takes. He is starting to learn that, and he’s getting better and better as well.
   
• Having big receivers is a big difference, and when you line up Horton in a one-on-one, it’s good because you know you have somebody to go to. You have to go to the one-on-one matchup. You have so much confidence in that guy.
   
• Daymion Sanford is a guy I came in with as a recruit, and he has been working. He has worked his way up, and he’s becoming a leader. Marco Jones and Noah Mikhail are going to play significant snaps this season. Jones is huge. Guys like that, including Ray Coney, have been doing really good. Ryan Henderson has been coming off the ball. We have a lot of good guys like Bryce Anderson and Marcus Ratcliffe in the secondary. Julio Humphrey has been making plays. We know what that defense is capable of with Elko and Lyle Hemphill coming in.
   
• The biggest thing that I see is a change in leadership. I came in with a freshman and was here with Jimbo Fisher. We had so much change, and you see how long it took to get where we are now. Going into that second season with Elko, we knew what it took, so we could go into spring at all gas. It was the same thing going into this spring. We knew who was new, and we knew they’d have to catch up. We’re taking those guys with us. It’s about guys who do the right things outside of football, whether it’s class or community service. You see guys in practice step up to try to do the right things. It has been a huge difference, and that’s a huge compliment to Elko and what he has done for A&M football.
   
• I think KC Concepcion will be the first Aggie drafted. It would be awesome to see all three of Concepion, Cashius Howell and Chase Bisontis go in the first round.
   
• From this team this year, excluding myself, the most likely player to be a first-round pick is probably Rueben Owens II. I think he could definitely be a top-10 pick. He could be the best running back in the SEC.
   
• It would be cool to play for the Tennessee Titans one day. My dad wouldn’t know what to do. Oh my.