Marcel Reed injury update: Mike Elko reveals how much Texas A&M QB was impacted by ankle vs. Texas

Heading into last Friday night’s road game against No. 16 Texas, No. 3 Texas A&M sat at an unblemished 11-0 on the season. The program had not compiled a perfect 12-0 regular season record since 1992, meaning a lot was on the line for Mike Elko‘s program in Austin.

With a chance to achieve history and also reach the SEC Championship Game for the first time, the Aggies fell to their rival Longhorns, 27-17. The play of quarterback Marcel Reed was a major factor in the loss, as he played one of his worst games of the season.

In the loss, Reed completed 20-of-32 passes for 180 yards and no touchdowns. He also rushed for 71 yards, but also threw two interceptions. His second interception came with 2:32 remaining on the clock while the Aggies were trailing by 10, basically sealing the game. However, Reed did suffer an ankle injury in the first quarter that many attributed to throwing him off his game.

Postgame, though, head coach Mike Elko shut down any excuses for Reed’s disappointing performance. Elko made it clear that it didn’t impact the game.

“I don’t think the ankle affected him,” Elko said. “I think he still ran the ball well. Until we got to the end of the game, I felt like he was doing the things we needed him to do. I thought we didn’t do a very good job of keeping clean pockets for him, and I feel like it got very, very gray for him trying to find routes and receivers. We’ve got to do a better job with that. But that’s kind of where we’re at.”

Texas A&M will need Marcel Reed at his best in College Football Playoff

It is certainly great news for the program heading towards the College Football Playoff that Reed shouldn’t be affected by the injury. When at his best, he was one of the best quarterbacks in the country this season. In 12 games, the RS sophomore passed for 2,932 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. He also compiled 466 rushing yards and six more scores on the ground.

In its third game of the season, Texas A&M knocked off Notre Dame 41-40 on the road. Since that game, however, the Fighting Irish have rattled off 10 consecutive wins and seem likely to once again make the College Football Playoff, barring a BYU conference championship win. We could be headed for a rematch of that game.