Reed's recent struggles loom large with LSU on deck

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In the aftermath of a painful Southeastern Conference football loss to Kentucky, Texas A&M coach Mike Elko reaffirmed his support for and faith in quarterback Marcel Reed.

“I have a lot of confidence in Marcel,” Elko said. “I believe in Marcel. Marcel is our quarterback.”

Reed was a target for criticism following the 31-21 loss to Kentucky.

He completed just 26 of 49 passes (53.1 percent) for 236 yards and a touchdown. He also threw two interceptions inside Kentucky territory.

“I think you saw him at times look the way we want him to look,” Elko said. “And again, that inconsistency showed up. I think we continue to evaluate the best way to put him in the positions for him to be the most successful that he can be.”

Fans also have vented on social media frustration that Reed didn’t keep the ball on some inside handoffs when vast yardage appeared available on the edges.

Reed rushed for 80 yards on 10 carries vs. Kentucky, but only two carries were on designed runs. He had 40- and 28-yard gains on scrambles.

Last season, Reed rushed for 493 yards and six touchdowns.

Elko has had a close-up view of Reed’s running exploits. However, he’s expressed concern about Reed's size. Reed is listed at 6-foot-1, 185 pounds.

“I think you’re always walking a fine line of health and effectiveness,” Elko said. “You’ll also have to — in order for him to be able to run the ball — people have to be able to create opportunities for him.

“Over his time here, he’s not a guy who you design a lot of quarterback runs like you’ve seen from the 225-, 230-pound quarterbacks over the years.

“He’s the guy that gets on the edge and gets around and gets loose and some teams allow him that opportunity and some teams take that away from him. I think that’s really what plays into it.”

Elko may be more inclined to let get Reed running when the No. 23 Aggies face No. 10 LSU in Baton Rouge on Saturday at 6:30 p.m.

Reed’s running has ruined the Tigers before.

In 2024, he took over the role of A&M’s starting quarterback after he came off the bench to rally the Aggies from a 10-point deficit to a 38-23 victory over LSU. He rushed for three touchdowns in that game.

Last season, he rushed for 108 yards and two touchdowns in a 49-25 victory over LSU.

Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Marcel Reed was the named the SEC's Offensive Player of the Week following a 49-25 domination of LSU in 2025.

Bussey sidelined

Elko announced that junior wide receiver Terry Bussey will miss the remainder of the season with a “lower-body " injury. Bussey sustained the injury on the opening kickoff vs. Kentucky. He was taken from the field on a cart.

“Unfortunately, Terry Bussey will be out of the season,” Elko said. “We kind of thought that was going to be the case. It’s a lower body injury. We’ll look forward to him recovered, and he’ll be back with us next year.”

Since August camp, Bussey had been praised as perhaps the most improved player on the roster.

So far this season he had seven catches for 92 yards. He’d also rushed four times for 10 yards and a touchdown and was averaging 16 yards on two punt returns.

Freshman Aaron Gregory, who has three catches for 28 yards and a touchdown, figures to get much more action with Bussey out.

“I think it’s an opportunity for him to step up,” Elko said. “He’s a young kid, and he’ll be playing in his first college road game. But he’s a really, talented player and a very competitive kid.

Danny Grant, TexAgs

Junior wide receiver Terry Bussey went down on the opening kick vs. Kentucky.

“I think you saw some guys step into roles on Saturday with us having to rotate (receivers) … Jayden Warren, TK Norman, Kelshaun Johnson.

“We’ve always kind of been the “next man up” mentality, and we’re going to do that again.”

Receiver Ashton Bethel-Roman and running backs Jamarion Morrow and KJ Edwards also have injury issues. Bethel-Roman and Morrow did not play vs. Kentucky. Edwards did not play in the second half because of an undisclosed injury.

Elko did not reveal their playing status. SEC teams give an injury report on Wednesday night.

Line by line

Despite the overall disappointing showing vs. Kentucky, Elko said the rebuilt offensive line showed progress.

“You don’t want to say things are moving in a good direction coming off of Saturday, but I do think that we have seen progress from that group from Week 1 to Week 2 to Week 3. I do.

“There were running lanes there that were bigger than they were the week before. I do think we did a good job protecting Marcel. With all the time that we stood in the pocket and had to throw over the duration of the game, I thought the pockets were clean.”

The Aggies averaged 5.3 yards per carry and gained 187 rushing yards. Reed was not sacked.

Comments clarified

A postgame comment in which Elko said “everybody will quit on us” drew some attention from A&M fans on social media.

Elko, who had to be reminded of what he said, clarified that he was not saying A&M fans would quit on the Aggies. He was referring to the reactions on social media and, presumably, football podcasts.

“(It was) probably about the noise that comes out in and around the program when you lose a game like that,” he said. “And wanting to make sure that we stay internal in our thought processes and try to get better. Certainly didn’t mean for anybody to take offense to that.”

In previous weeks, Elko has praised Kyle Field crowds in excess of 100,000 fans for supporting the team despite scorching heat.

“I don’t think I’ve ever taken a shot at our fan base,” he said. “I think I’ve been unbelievably complimentary of our fan base every chance I get.”

Notes
• Elko typically begins each weekly press conference by announcing Players of the Week on offense, defense, special teams and scout team. No Players of the Week were named.

• The SEC announced that the A&M vs. Arkansas football game at Kyle Field on Oct. 3 will kick off at 6 p.m. The game will be televised on either ESPN or ESPN2.