Marcel Reed reveals biggest lesson he learned from Peyton Manning this summer

After Conner Weigman suffered an injury early in the 2024 campaign, Marcel Reed earned an opportunity to lead the Aggies’ offense. Reed didn’t fail to impress, leading Texas A&M to a win in his first three starts.

Midway through the season, Texas A&M named Reed its full-time starter, and the Aggies never looked back. Following his standout season, Reed received numerous training opportunities this offseason, including an invitation to the Manning Passing Academy. On Tuesday, Reed revealed the biggest lesson he learned from legendary QB Peyton Manning while at the camp.

“Peyton (Manning) really talked about watching film and how he did it, different things he would look at. That’s something I’m going to take into 2025, for sure,” Reed said, per TexAgs. “There’s levels to it. Last year, I was prepared. I watched film, but there’s another level I can take it to.”

Reed finished his redshirt freshman season with 1,864 passing yards and 15 touchdowns, compared to just six interceptions. His arm was far from his only threat. He also amassed 547 yards and seven scores in the ground game.

Reed was instrumental in Texas A&M securing wins over Florida, Arkansas and LSU. After picking up lessons from Manning this offseason, Reed should help Texas A&M pick up even more impressive wins this fall.

“The Manning Academy is something you want your quarterback at. You know, you’ve probably got a little bit of a problem if your quarterback’s not going to that obviously,” Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko. “Last year was a little different because of injury, but if you’ve got a returning quarterback, you’d really love for him to get invited, and the opportunity to go there and learn from those guys is something you want to take advantage of.”

Experts only expect Reed to step up his game this year. On Monday, Reed was named to the Maxwell Award watchlist. The award is annually presented to the most outstanding player in college football. Marcel Reed is excited for the season to begin.

“I feel like I’ve had tremendous growth in my passing this offseason,” Reed said. “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… It feels very good. I’m excited to get out there again and play football.”

On Aug. 30, Texas A&M will kick off its season with a showdown against UTSA at 7 p.m. ET. The game will air live on ESPN.