Texas A&M Aggies fans got a major pit in their stomach in the first quarter against the Texas Longhorns.
After making a cut on a run, Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed went down in obvious pain before being tended to by trainers. His left knee twisted awkwardly on the run, causing immediate concern about a serious injury.
But fortunately, after about a minute on the turf, Reed eventually got up and jogged off under his own power before running up and down the sideline shorty after. Reed exited having completed 4 of 9 passes for 47 yards along with five carries for 29 yards and returned for Texas A&M’s next possession on offense.
Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Miles O’Neill warms up prior to the game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. / Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images
Texas A&M backup quarterback Miles O’Neiil entered the game for Reed and handed it off on third down. The Aggies looked to settle for a field goal after that play, but the kick was blocked by Texas defensive end Ethan Burke.
This season, O’Neill has gone 7 of 14 passing for 120 yards, one touchdown and two picks. Last season as a true freshman, he went 5 of 6 passing for 51 yards, a touchdown and no picks.
Leading up to the game, the Texas defense talked about Reed’s growth this season and his ability as a quarterback along with who he is off the field.
“Great player, great person on and off the field,” Texas defensive end Colin Simmons said of Reed. “So I want to give him that. And yeah, he’s a hell of a quarterback.”
Some of the most notable of these comments came from Texas safety Michael Taaffe, who spoke highly of Reed’s personality off the field.
“I know Marcel fairly well, great guy, great dude, and clearly a great quarterback,” Taaffe said during press conferences with the media this week. “We did a Sonic commercial together, so as much as I didn’t want to like him, it was really hard not to because he’s a really good guy. You know the quarterback at A&M and the safety at Texas, you don’t want them to be friends, but it was hard not to like him, he’s an amazing dude.”
Headed into the Texas game, Reed had gone 189 of 306 passing for 2,752 yards, 25 touchdowns and eight interception this season. He’s also added 77 carries for 395 yards and seven scores.
