Texas A&M QB brushes off narrative that he's 'not a passer' ahead of fall camp

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a day ago

Tuesday's first fall practice press conference ahead of Texas A&M's 2025 season featured redshirt sophomore quarterback Marcel Reed looking and sounding as confident as ever, which likely contributed to his longer-than-normal media availability, allowing the reporters in the room to ask a litany of questions regarding his offseason training and confidence in the 2025 offense.
Throughout the offseason, Reed has focused on developing his dual-threat skill set, with a focus on improving his timing, accuracy, and touch as a passer. Although these skills were not complete weaknesses last season, they lacked consistency. After Conner Weigman transferred to Houston, Reed was named the full-time starter, providing the Tennessee native the entire offseason to prepare and work on his remaining issues.
Still, this didn't stop many in the national media from writing off Texas A&M's talented 2025 roster because of their lack of belief in Marcel Reed, likely judging him off a handful of games, mainly the Aggies' 17-7 loss to rival Texas. With the return of all five starting offensive linemen, new wide receiver KC Concepcion, and a loaded running back room headlined by senior Le'Veon Moss, Reed does not need to be a superstar for Texas A&M to win nine or ten games.
"I feel like I've had tremendous growth in my passing this offseason. We've had some great receivers come in, and having the great O-line that we have, the great running backs that we have, they've made it easier for me to sit back there."
When asked about the national "naysayers" who have questioned his ability as a passer, Reed provided a mature answer from the perspective of a respected leader who is ready to take the next step. Again, Reed does not need to answer any sports journalist who questions his ability, because the answer remains the same for every player: prove it on the field.
"It didn't really motivate me or do anything different for me. As I go into each season, I know there are things I need to improve on, and I've been doing that since I was a kid."
"Each practice, I try to find things to get better at."
If Reed improves as a passer, defenses will have a tough time preparing for OC Collin Klein's scheme compared to the latter half of last season after Le'Veon Moss was lost for the season. In fact, Reed's enhanced throw game would open up big holes in the run game, while the speed at wide receiver will allow potential chunk gains in the short passing game.
"I don't think my passing ability being better will affect how many times I run the ball. It's definitely instinct on how much I run. The defense has to make a decision at the end of the day once I get outside of the pocket."
"We'll see when we get into the season what it does, which decision they make and who they want to stop. They have to choose one."
Marcel Reed is smartly ignoring the outside noise and remains focused on making progress over the next 30 days of fall camp for the 2025 season-opener vs. UTSA on Saturday, August 30.
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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Texas A&M QB Marcel Reed ignores narrative that he's 'not a passer'