Todd McShay provides latest take on Marcel Reed performance, Texas A&M win streak

The Texas A&M Aggies are the last unbeaten SEC team and control their path to the SEC Championship Game as well as the College Football Playoff. It’s been a phenomenal season and comes on the play of star quarterback Marcel Reed.

Not everyone is without concern as it relates to Reed, though. Analyst Todd McShay explained on The McShay Show that he has some concerns about Reed. Those concerns have, seemingly, kept him from elevating his game to the next level and could even cost the Aggies in their run.

“Let’s just call this portion of the show, the Marcel Reed update,” Todd McShay said. “No fancy name for it… I came on and said, ‘A&M is gonna get got at some point because Marcel Reed is just not playing to the level,’ and it came off after that LSU game where they won. So, I think people were surprised… They’re all there, and I want to start this by saying Marcel Reed is a phenomenal athlete. He’s a gamer. He finds ways to win.”

At this point, Reed appears to be a candidate for the Heisman Trophy. A duel threat quarterback, he’s completing 62.3 percent of his passes for 2,193 yards and 19 touchdowns to six interceptions. He’s also rushed for 378 yards and another six touchdowns.

“His mobility gives Texas A&M something very few offenses in the country have. He’s not 4.3. I told you, I think he might be 4.5, but his quickness, his first two, three steps is unlike anybody else’s in the country at the quarterback position. So, it extends, it creates, and all those things. Okay, let’s start with that. And I love the guy, I love his competitiveness. Everyone swears by him. I’m not here railing. I’m just here, telling you what the tape said,” McShay said.

“And, honestly, I sat down on a Sunday because I kind of felt badly. It’s like, A&M’s rolling, man. A&M’s undefeated. This is the best season in my lifetime of A&M…I was saying there’s some flaws in Marcel’s game that have not improved enough from year one to year two, where if A&M is gonna get got, it’s going to be because of some of the things I’m seeing on tape from Marcel as a passer.”

In all of this, McShay does see the good in Reed. It’s just that when he puts games on tape, there are also mistakes that pop up, which, as the competition stiffens, he may not being able to get away with.

“So, I pop in this tape because I watched the game last night, and what I’m seeing, and understandably so, you see the flash plays, and the replays of him and the celebration of them, and you see all the good things. Occasionally, you see a negative like a sack or an interception or something like that, but the good always outweighs the bad with Marcel on the broadcast,” McShay said.

“And he’s a special, special dude. So, I watched this tape because I wanted to come back and be like, ‘Maybe I was wrong. Maybe he’s taken to some of the coaching, and maybe we’re seeing some of the progression.’ So, I pop in the tape and there are 11 key plays from this game… I am an Aggie backer, but if I’m a skeptic and looking at how could something go wrong… Texas is lurking, SEC Championship is lurking, College Football Playoff on the horizon. All those things.”

McShay would go on to credit head coach Mike Elko for his strategy against Missouri. That was leaning on the defense and playing a smart game against a banged up opponent. That limited Reed’s risk. So, within that game, he had 11 key plays on tape.

“Of the 11 plays, I had six negatives,” McShay said. “That’s not a good ratio… I had three solid plays, and only two where it’s like these are really positives.”

If there is a major change that Todd McShay would make, it’s a correctable one. His footwork can be erratic at times. That, in turn, can lead to inaccurate throws and throws with less strength on them than he’d otherwise like to see.

“Here’s the big takeaway. He’s got to calm his feet. Marcel Reed has got to calm his feet… And here would be my message to him as his quarterback’s coach, ‘I promise you, man. You are so athletic and talented. You are just as explosive if you have your feet married to your eyes and you’re not bouncing up and down and panicking and doing this. If you’re like this [steady] and you decide you’ve got to go, you’re just as fast. In fact, you might be faster,” McShay said. “Because you’ve got your right foot already there in the ground and you just drive off of it and go. Rather than having to go from here, and then come forward.’ It’s the biggest thing I see in his game, and it’s correctable.”

None of that is to say McShay doesn’t like Reed as a player. He does. It’s just about refining his skillset.

“There flashes, oh my gosh… He’s a special dude,” McShay said. “He’s an awesome athlete. That’s part of the perspective you have to keep with it. Time’s running out. We’ve got to drill home the patience, the calm feet in the pocket because he’s capable. He’s just doesn’t have the tools yet to be more consistent as a passer, but it’s there and it’s concerning.”

Marcel Reed and Texas A&M are back in action on Saturday. There, they’ll host South Carolina, and Reed will hope to get better with another week under his belt.