During his freshman season at Texas A&M, Marcel Reed called his dad to fill him in on how the start of football practices had gone.
Reed was fourth string on the depth chart and confided in his father, Rod Reed, about how he was only getting one or two reps each practice. The defensive coaches wanted him on the scout team, but Marcel was hesitant.
Some parents would’ve called the coach, marched into their office and demanded their child get more playing time. But Marcel’s father, a former head football coach at Tennessee State, had different advice.
“I said, ‘No, you need to go in there and tell Coach [Jimbo] Fisher that you want to go to [the] scout team,’” Rod told The Dallas Morning News. “I said, ‘You go to scout team, and you make Tuesday and Wednesday your game day.’”
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So that’s what Marcel did. He became scout team player of the week multiple times during that 2023 season. By the end of that year, he played most of the snaps in the Texas Bowl against Oklahoma State. Two years later, he’s solidified the starting role and led A&M to its first College Football Playoff appearance, where the No. 7 Aggies will host No. 10 Miami at 11 a.m. Saturday at Kyle Field.
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Marcel’s journey from scout team to SEC starter has happened fast. Injuries to players ahead on the depth chart paved the way for the younger quarterback to earn more playing time. Patience and some good advice from his dad helped, too.
“I knew that that would help him navigate a pass rush,” Rod said. “I knew the speed of the game would speed up for him. I’m a coach. I know there’s a process. You’re not gonna step in very often as a freshman QB and be the man. I think being on scout team all year kind of prepared him for that moment.”
Football was always a part of Reed’s life from a young age. It was the family business.
While he’s gained mentorship from successful coaches such as Fisher, Mike Elko and Heisman finalist Collin Klein, his offensive coordinator at A&M, he’s always had his dad to help guide him.
That extra support from home has kept him grounded amid a rise to the spotlight in A&M’s best season since 1992.
“I’m just taking each win by the week and just trying to focus on the next one, but obviously, it’s been pretty cool,” Marcel said. “This has been the type of season that we dream of, and we’re just doing everything that we can to keep it rolling.”
Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed, middle, is pictured with his mother, Tamika Reed, and father, Rod Reed. Rod was the head football coach at Tennessee State for a decade. (Courtesy/Rod Reed)
Courtesy/Rod Reed
Lessons from home
Marcel gave himself a few nicknames back in elementary school that have followed him to the college level.
He calls himself the gingerbread man or the dragonfly.
The gingerbread man comes from the classic folktale where the gingerbread man comes to life and taunts his pursuers with the famous line:
Run, run as fast as you can! You can’t catch me. I’m the gingerbread man!
The dragonfly, Marcel says, came from a similar place.
“I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to hit a dragonfly,” he said. “It’s pretty hard to do.”
The dual-threat quarterback prides himself on being difficult to sack. In 12 games this season, he’s been sacked just 10 times — the fewest among starters in the SEC.
Some of that can be attributed to his offensive line. But it can also be attributed to another lesson he learned from his dad.
“People talk about completion percentage a lot,” Rod said. “Marcel is taught and it’s been preached to by dad that you don’t take sacks. That’s just being unselfish because some kids will not throw the ball away because they don’t want their completion percentage to go down. Your job is to throw the football and protect the football.”
It’s those lessons that were instilled in Marcel from a young age. His father coached at his own alma mater, Tennessee State, for almost Marcel’s entire life and served as head coach from 2010-20. Marcel’s grandfather Bob also played at Tennessee State before going onto the NFL and playing for Washington.
From as young as 5 years old, Marcel found a home in the Tennessee State locker room. He’d attend practices. He’d dress up in the uniform and run out on the field before the players on game days. He’d ask the trainers to tape up his shoes, so he could look like the players.
Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed, left, is pictured with his father, Rod Reed. Rod was the head football coach at Tennessee State for a decade. (Courtesy/Rod Reed)
Courtesy/Rod Reed
But as Marcel grew older, it became clear he had the potential to play at a program much larger than where his father and grandfather played. He received his first SEC football offer from Kentucky after his freshman year of high school. After his sophomore year, Alabama offered him.
He initially committed to Ole Miss, but once Bryan Harsin was fired at Auburn and rumors began to swirl that Lane Kiffin could take the job, Marcel started to explore A&M and Auburn as other options.
With family in Texas, A&M started to sway his interest, and Marcel ultimately flipped his commitment.
Still, he sat behind Conner Weigman, Max Johnson and Jaylen Henderson as a freshman. But injuries to the first two allowed him to climb the depth chart before Henderson was injured on the first play of the Texas Bowl, allowing Marcel to take over.
A coaching change and deep role on the depth chart could’ve tempted Marcel to transfer after his freshman season, but one conversation with new coach Elko sold him.
As a redshirt freshman, he backed up Weigman to start the year. After an injury to Weigman, he earned his first start against Florida. He ultimately took Weigman’s job, replacing a former top-30 recruit in the class of 2022 and ESPN’s No. 1-rated pocket passer in the class.
It was all in preparation for this year, where he led A&M to its best start in over 30 years, recording 2,932 yards passing and 25 touchdowns in addition to 466 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns.
“I think he’s made a lot of growth,” Elko said. “I think he’s elevated the way you would’ve wanted him to this year. He’s made a lot of plays with his legs, with his arm. He’s become a true dual-threat quarterback and obviously has been part of a really productive, explosive offense this year, and we’ll need that to continue to have a chance in the playoff.”
Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed (10) carries for a touchdown against LSU defensive back A.J. Haulcy (13) in the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025 in Baton Rouge, La. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Gerald Herbert / AP
Rise to the spotlight
Marcel has taken a lot of valuable advice from his father, but he didn’t need it when deciding where he’d play next season.
Ahead of his CFP debut, the quarterback announced he’d return to College Station, ending speculation that he may declare for the NFL draft.
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Rod said that was a decision Marcel came to on his own — but one he supports.
“I’m a firm believer in development,” he said. “I also know if somebody comes out with a first-round grade, you’ve got to discuss that. I don’t think that’ll happen this year, but I think that kind of upside is there. He’s not in a rush.”
It wasn’t a difficult decision, either, for the quarterback who says he’s felt embraced by the program and its fans, especially when no one expected he’d be the starter not too long ago.
“Life has changed a little bit,” Marcel said. “I came to play football because of the love of the game. I never expected to get NIL when I first came to college or do any of those things. I go out here and play the game I’ve been playing since I was 5 years old just to have fun because that’s what the game’s all about.”
A&M fans launched a Heisman campaign on his behalf, chanting his name in a viral trend both on social media and around campus throughout the season. It helped propel him into the conversation for the nation’s best player.
A near-loss to South Carolina and a poor performance against Texas dropped Marcel out of the conversation. Even his dad was disappointed to see that.
But it allowed him to turn his focus to leading A&M to its first national championship since 1939. His coaches, his teammates and especially his dad believe he’s ready to do so.
“We are only going to go as far as Marcel takes us,” A&M receiver KC Concepcion said.
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