What to know of Marcel Reed, Texas A&M QB behind injured Jaylen Henderson on depth chart
Texas A&M's Marcel Reed began his Aggies tenure in the 2023 college football season as a fourth-string quarterback.
But, through a series of unfortunate injuries in Texas A&M's QB depth chart, the former star player from Nashville, Tennessee, will end his freshman season where few thought he would: starting, essentially, in the Aggies' Texas Bowl vs. Oklahoma State.
Reed entered the Aggies' final game of the 2023 season after Jaylen Henderson became the latest Texas A&M signal-caller to face an injury this year. The latter rolled to his left and completed an 11-yard pass for a first down to Texas A&M's 46-yard line on the first play of the game, but landed awkwardly on his right arm. He exited the game with a brace on his arm, and it was later confirmed he would not return.
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Here's everything you need to know about Reed:
Marcel Reed 247 ranking
Reed hails from Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville, where he became the No. 295 player in the 2023 recruiting class, per 247Sports' Composite rankings. He was also listed as the No. 20 quarterback in his class and the No. 5 player in the state of Tennessee.
Reed, the first four-year starter in the history of the private school's football program, committed to play for Ole Miss out of high school. However, he later flipped his commitment to Texas A&M and former coach Jimbo Fisher.
Fisher was glowing not only of Reed's play-making ability out of high school, but also the fact he is a coach's son. (His father, Rod Reed, is a former player at Tennessee State and was a coach for the Tigers since 2003, including as head coach from 2010 through 2020).
Said Fisher of Marcel Reed after he signed with the Aggies:
"We love him. He's a football (and) basketball guy," Fisher said. "He comes from a coaching background. His dad was a coach for a long time, so he gets it.
"I've seen him off the field, in the weight room or outside the office, just stop and talk with him. He's very happy to be there. We're happy he's there. I think he has a great upside."
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Marcel Reed stats
Reed signed with Texas A&M after putting up incredible numbers at quarterback for Montgomery Bell Academy: 6,357 passing yards and 62 touchdowns, on top of 2,277 rushing yards and 38 touchdowns on the ground. That said, he understandably saw limited action in his freshman campaign in College Station.
Prior to Wednesday's Texas Bowl action vs. Oklahoma State, he played in just two games (meaning he did not burn his redshirt, per NCAA eligibility rules). He completed 1 of 3 passing attempts for 13 yards and a touchdown, and rushed three times for 16 yards (including a long of 13 yards).
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Texas A&M depth chart
Of course, the reasoning for Reed's relative lack of action is the fact he started so far down the Aggies' depth chart at quarterback. Here's how the Aggies' QB depth chart looked at the beginning of the season:
Jaylen Henderson
Marcel Reed
Conner Weigman began the year as the Aggies' starter, but was lost for the season after taking a hit vs. Auburn on Sept. 23. That opened the door for backup Max Johnson to step into the starting role, though he was hit hard in a Week 10 loss to Ole Miss, leading to some chicanery the next week against Mississippi State.
Regardless, Johnson's last game as an Aggie was vs. the Rebels, as he later entered the transfer portal and committed to North Carolina. Henderson stepped in as a starter for the remaining three regular-season games, completing 52 of 77 passes (67.5%) for 704 yards and six touchdowns to two interceptions.
Following his injury vs. Oklahoma State, the Aggies had to dive deeper down their depth chart — giving Reed an opportunity few thought he would have at the beginning of the season.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Who is Marcel Reed? 247 ranking, stats, more to know of Texas A&M QB
