Mike Elko provides insight into what makes Marcel Reed a great leader

It takes more than a strong arm for a player to be a great quarterback. They also must have exceptional leadership skills. Last week, Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko raved about quarterback Marcel Reed‘s leadership qualities.

“He’s got kind of a magnetic personality. I think that’s a really good starting point,” Elko said. “We define leadership as your ability to get people to follow you. Right? That’s what leading is. If you’re leading and no one’s following you, you’re not actually doing anything.

“Part of that is your ability to connect and relate to people. And, I think he’s got a really magnetic personality that allows him to connect and relate to his teammates, and I think that draws it around.”

After redshirting the 2023 campaign, Reed began last season as the Aggies’ backup quarterback. Nonetheless, after Conner Weigman was sidelined with an injury, Reed earned a shot at the starting spot behind center and never looked back.

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.

After receiving national recognition during the season, Reed had the opportunity to attend the Manning Passing Academy this offseason, and continue to build his skills and leadership.

“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.”

Evidently, experts expect Reed’s offseason work to pay dividends this fall. In July, he was named to the Maxwell Award preseason watchlist. Marcel Reed is excited to show off his improvement.

“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.